Remus Lupin and the Impossible Girl
by Angelington
Summary: 1993. A certain werewolf is asked to fill a teaching position at Hogwarts. He is joined by a girl from the future who has only recently learned of her magical capabilities. No one could have imagined the events that would unfold. Not even the Doctor.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a really different from what I usually do but I hope you guys love it as much as me.**

Travelling with the Doctor had changed Clara's life forever. As it would anyone's really. She'd saved the lives of the people on earth, other alien species—as well as fighting and running from them. She'd seen other planets, universes, and experienced things you could never explain or write about because they are too wonderful and extraordinary.  
She'd been in the Tardis, she was a time and space traveller, and it meant you could see things no one else ever could.  
But just when Clara thought her life couldn't possibly get any better, that she couldn't have any more surprises or find anything out of the ordinary—not after so many years of travelling with the Doctor—one of their trips caused a chain of events that changed her perspective…and her life.

Clara had skipped into the Tardis as usual, with a grand idea of where she wanted to go. "Let's go back and visit Vastra and Jenny. It's been so long—and I do love the nineteenth century." She started putting the coordinates into the Tardis, but didn't expect the Doctor to return them back to neutral.

"No, Clara."  
It was then that she noticed what was already on the screen…the Tardis scanners had picked up something odd inside her town. They weren't travelling through time and space today.  
She pulled the screen closer to have a look at the DNA sample it had brought up. "What is it? It looks human…"

"Not quite." The Doctor murmured. "Look closer."  
Clara obeyed, only then seeing what it was he wanted her to see. Mixed into the strands of the DNA was something else. Clara expected it to be some sort of alien—why else would the Tardis scan it and the Doctor look so serious about it? But it wasn't alien. At least, not quite.  
"Werewolf?" she whispered, almost incredulous.  
"Apparently so." The Doctor spun to the other side of the console, preparing to take off.  
"But…is it actually a werewolf—like a real one?" Clara folded her arms, still staring at the screen. "Because you told me all these story books monsters generally aren't properly real. The myths and legends about them come from others things and get a different name…"  
"I've come across a werewolf once before when I had a visit with Queen Victoria." The Doctor answered rather abruptly, waiting for her to grab onto the railing before he pushed the lever down and the Tardis went into flight.  
"Queen Victoria was a werewolf?" Clara spluttered just a little.  
"No—well possibly. Anyway, the point is werewolves—at least the one I encountered—are quite real and you don't want to get bitten by one." He put the brakes on once they landed, heading down the stairs with Clara on his heels. He paused before opening the door. "Although I am slightly confused as to how it got here…" he frowned at the thought, but before Clara could ask why that was he pulled the door and disappeared outside.

They had landed in a nearby park, quite close to where Clara taught at the school. "It's day time…so we won't actually find it in it's…wolf form." She pointed out, watching as he held his screwdriver to scan the area. He didn't reply so she continued. "And they only change at full moon so tennically it won't be dangerous again for a few weeks."  
"Yes, Clara, you don't need to point out the obvious I'm not stupid."  
Clara rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and watching him walk around mumbling to himself and checking the signals his screwdriver gave back to him. "My point is, *why* are we here?"  
"It travelled through time." The screwdriver latched onto something and the Doctor walked off. Clara ran after him, her tiny legs now good at managing to keep up with his ridiculous stride.  
"The werewolf time travelled?"  
"Yes."  
"How is that even possible?"  
"Well, there are several explanations; one of them being that there's a time lord that has been bitten by a werewolf and subsequently turns into one every full moon. But I highly doubt that is the case."  
"So you don't know." Clara glanced around, noticing how there were hardly any people even around despite it being after school hours. Normally the kids were mucking about playing football or something. Where was everyone?  
"We're here to find out how." The Doctor replied, coming to a halt. Clara nearly smacked into him. She looked up, following his gaze.

There was a single man, the only one in the entire park, sitting on the ground underneath a tree. He'd fished out a piece of the local newspaper from the rubbish bin and was reading it.  
"That's him?" Clara whispered. He looked…normal. Except a bit poor and raggedy—like a homeless person, really.  
The Doctor double-checked his screwdriver before putting it in his pocket. "That's him."  
They walked over, the Doctor reaching into his jacket and pulling out the psychic paper and holding it out. "Good afternoon, I'm the Doctor and this is my friend Clara."

The ragged man glanced up briefly and Clara started a bit when she noticed the scars running across his face. He stared at the psychic paper the Doctor was offering and frowned. "You're from the Ministry?"  
"Yes." The Doctor answered simply. "From the Ministry. That's exactly us." He pulled his paper away, taking a brief glimpse and about to put it in his pocket when he too frowned and pulled it back to look properly. "Ministry…of Magic…."  
Clara blinked, peering over his shoulder at it. What was the Ministry of Magic? She cast a sideways glance at the man who had stood up and was watching them carefully.

The Doctor shrugged it off, stuffing the psychic paper back in his jacket. "Yes. So. Where were we?"  
"You're not from the Ministry….don't look the type, don't act like the type." He replied pointblank, giving them both a look that made Clara uncomfortable. "But you know about them…so who are you?" He reached inside his jacket with one hand, like he was going to pull a gun and Clara quickly exchanged a look with the Doctor.  
"We're here to help you." The Doctor replied carefully, taking one step back.  
"Help me?"  
"Yes." The Doctor hesitated. "I know you're not from here—this time. I can help you get back."

The scarred man stared at them for a long moment, frozen. Then very slowly, he let his hand fall back to his side. "Then I suppose we should have a chat…so you can tell me how you know this, exactly." He paused, glancing around. "And explain to me where I am."  
"Good." The Doctor forced a smile, "Clara knows a place—don't you Clara?" he gave her a nudge.  
"Um, yes." Clara answered hastily, jerking her gaze away from the stranger. "Just this way."

They walked the very short distance to a café Clara often stopped at for coffee after work. They sat in a booth in the back, their gust looking rather uncomfortable and out of his depth. Clara wondered *where* he was from exactly. And she was trying not to stare at the scars on his face. She pushed the coffee filled mugs across the table to both men and sat down beside the Doctor.  
"So, if I am correct you are from 1993?" the Doctor stirred his coffee with a spoon his produced also from his jacket, glancing up at their new 'friend'.  
"Forgive me for not answering. But I would rather like to know who I'm talking to and how you know this before I answer any questions." He replied quietly, ignoring the steaming drink in front of him.  
"It's rather complicated." The Doctor took a sip of his drink. "And most people do not handle the explanation well."  
"I think I can handle it." He met the Doctor's gaze with a level expression.  
"Alright." The Doctor pushed his cup aside. "I own a time machine that did it's usual surroundings check when I landed and it picked up an unusual signal coming from you."

Clara was watching their guest while the Doctor spoke, her coffee also untouched. She noticed something flicker in his eyes briefly at this. Unease.  
"It said you're part werewolf." The Doctor shrugged like it was no big deal, taking his coffee to take another gulp. "And since I'm the protector of this planet I thought I'd come along and check you out. Especially seeing as you're supposed to be in 1993 and obviously…are not." He finished his coffee and turned to Clara. 'Are you going to finish yours?"

She shook her head, ignoring him when he took her cup and proceeded to down it instead.  
The scarred man obviously had no idea how to take this. His eyes flickered back from Clara, then to the Doctor. "Why did the paper you showed me say you were from the Ministry?"  
"It's psychic" The Doctor explained simply. He pushed his second empty coffee cup to the side. "So, Mr. Werewolf…what about yourself? How did you get here and what exactly is the Ministry of Magic? I've visited a lot of places and I can tell you I've never heard of such a thing…"

He sat quietly, his gaze darting past them to the other people in the café chatting quietly amongst themselves or on their cellphones before he gazed back at them both.  
"My name is Remus…Remus Lupin." He replied finally. "And like you say, it's rather complicated."


	2. Chapter 2

Remus stood outside on Clara's back porch, staring up into the cloudless sky with the stars twinkling overhead, letting this mad day fully sink in.

He'd insisted to this "doctor" and his friend that he didn't want to explain in such a public place, so they'd come here. To Clara's home. Except they hadn't walked, they'd gone into the Doctor's time machine, which disguised itself as a blue police box, apparently. It was absolutely mad inside, like nothing Remus had ever seen in his life or possibly imagined. Lights, buttons, levers, strange sounds…

"Who are you?" he asked when they finally landed, and he'd somehow snapped out of the shock of it all.

"I've told you, I'm the Doctor."

"Yes…but you're not like… them…." Remus was still debating in his head how much to say exactly. He'd already mentioned the Ministry and the Doctor seemly wanted a very full explanation. Neither him nor the girl were magical. This Doctor was strange indeed, but not a wizard—if they were, they'd know exactly who the Ministry were. They were muggles and revealing the secrets of the magical realm was forbidden to such folk. Yet somehow, Remus doubted he was going to get the help he needed unless he did properly tell all. Plus, they had an advantage over him—they knew his secret already due to their scanners or something like that.

"Who's them?" the Doctor questioned quietly.

"Muggles." Remus answered rather reluctantly. "None magical people."

"Magical?" Clara spoke finally, she'd been awfully quiet during the past hour which was very unlike her.

"I think we should go inside, if that's alright." Remus replied politely, "I think you may want to sit down."

Clara led them into her little place, which was tidy and quaint—very much like herself. The Doctor sat on the couch rather comfortably. Remus stood, feeling very awkward still about everything as it was all a bit much still.

"I suppose you'll want me to start from the beginning." He sighed, pushing his hands into his jacket pockets and trying to think. "I don't remember what happened, unfortunately, or how I got here. It must have been when I was in my….other form."

"The werewolf." The Doctor added, it wasn't a question.

"Yes." Remus replied quietly. "I woke up in the park this morning…as you can imagine it was quite a shock."

"That would explain this." The Doctor flicked his sonic screwdriver toward the TV and the news channel popped up, the reporter stating there had been strange sightings at the park in early hours of the morning.

Remus flinched and looked away. He only hoped he hadn't hurt anybody…it was his greatest fear of the change.

Clara switched the television off noticing his discomfort, turning to look at both men. "So where *are* you from?"

"That's the complicated part." Remus finally sat down, suddenly feeling very tired and weak. He usually did the next morning, but he'd been running on shock and adrenaline up until now. "I'm not actually supposed to tell you…it could get me in trouble."

"We can't help you unless you explain." The Doctor reminded flatly.

"I know." Remus rubbed a hand over his face. "I'm from a different world, a magical one…there's this school, that teaches all forms of magic to students beginning at age eleven. Muggles—people who aren't magical—they can't see this world. And wizards and witches are forbidden to preform any sort of magic in front of them."

"What do you do to…become magical?" the Doctor was sceptical, trying to ignore the fact that Clara looked rather enthralled with the idea. It could possibly be a big lie, but she was very good at filling her head with story book nonsense sometimes and he wanted her keeping her wits.

"You're born with it." Remus answered simply. "Some children have magical parents, or one magical parent, some children have muggle parents…"

The Doctor sat quietly, thinking very deeply about this. It was Clara who spoke up finally. "The Ministry of Magic, what do they do?"

"They just preserve the magical law, of sorts. They make sure everybody follows the rules and if you don't, there can be terrible consequences."

"Like what?" the Doctor asked.

"Imprisonment, for example." Remus flinched just a little, thinking about one of his dear friends stuck in Azkaban.

There was a long silence, everyone thinking.

"Anything else you want to interrogate me about?" Remus offered finally, forcing a rather faint smile.

"Yes." The Doctor got up. "I'm not entirely convinced you're telling the truth..."

He trailed off as Lupin pulled something from his jacket, and like earlier Clara expected to see a gun, but instead he pulled out something else. A wand.

He closed the curtains in the lounge, gesturing for Clara to switch off the lights which she did so curiously, watching him.

"Lumos." He murmured, and Clara's eyes widened as a warm light glowed from his end of his wand, and then it was gone.

The Doctor still looked unconvinced, which Clara couldn't believe.

"That's amazing." She whispered, still captivated which Remus found rather tickling. It was such a simple spell, child's play.

"Can I try?" the Doctor held out his hand.

Remus reluctantly passed his wand over. But no matter how many different times the Doctor said the enchantment, nothing happened. Not even a spark. He finally handed the wand back, defeated. "Alright…I suppose for the moment you're not a fake."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Remus chuckled just a little. "Will you take me home?"

"We'll have to figure out how to land in this…magical world of yours. I'm assuming it's not very easy?"

Remus shrugged. "Originally I would have said no, but today has been full of surprises for me."

"And me." The Doctor agreed. "Well, I'll go back to my Tardis and see what I can do…."

Clara waved at him briefly, before gesturing for Remus to follow her. "You can stay in here if you want." She flipped the switch on the guestroom wall.

"Thank you." Remus looked around gratefully. It was very…muggle like, but much nicer then his old broken down home he'd been staying in with the leaky roof and shattered windows.

"And help yourself to anything in the kitchen." Clara added with a tiny smile, backing away.

Remus shook himself from his thoughts, dragging himself back to the present and the night sky above him.

"Does it make you frightened?"

He spun, finding the short girl standing a few paces off, watching him. "The moon." She clarified, glancing up.

Remus followed her gaze. It was an interesting question…and not one that he could give a simple answer to. "Sometimes." He answered finally, feeling her come up beside him. "But only when it is close to being full and I think about what's going to happen." He quieted. His condition wasn't something he was proud of.

Clara seemed to sense this and didn't ask anymore about it, she kept her head tilted back, admiring the stars. "You'll have to ignore the Doctor's suspicions…he can be very stupid sometimes."

Remus smiled faintly. "That's quite alright. Putting your trust in someone like me without asking a few questions is not very wise."

"I think it's wonderful," Clara murmured, "What you said about the magical world…you must be very eager to get home."

This wasn't quite the truth. While the magical world was beautiful and special, Remus didn't exactly share a particularly enchanting part of it. He missed Hogwarts, and the days spent with his friends who were now long gone.  
His shoulders dropped just a little thinking about it, until he noticed Clara watching him and attempted to pull himself together. "No where is perfect. Wizards have problems of their own." He fingered his wand briefly before dipping his head goodnight and disappearing inside.


	3. Chapter 3

_It was raining when Remus got a knock on the door to his leaky shack. He was putting buckets and bowels out to try and catch the leaks, but even most of them had cracks or holes in them._

 _He stared at the wooden door from across the room, not wanting to answer because most likely it was the landlord coming for the rent. Which he didn't have…_

 _Slowly he crossed the wet floor, sliding back the bolt and opening the door. He didn't expect to see the kind, old face of his former Headmaster at Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore._

 _"Hello, Remus. Sorry for coming by so unexpectedly…"_

 _"That's quite alright, sir." Remus replied, trying very hard not to act surprised or utterly embarrassed by the condition of his run-down house or his own clothes. He self consciously brushed a hand against his head, attempting to comb his hair properly. "To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you?" He closed the door behind himself, attempting to hide the horrendous interior._

 _"I've come to offer you a job." Dumbledore smiled, seemingly unconcerned with not being invited inside as is the usual tradition. "A teaching position at Hogwarts."_

 _Remus stared at him for a long moment, the only sound was the rain splashing to the ground and leaking from the overflowing gutters. "You want me to teach at Hogwarts?" he asked finally, unable to keep the slight disbelief out of his voice._

 _He couldn't even keep a child's job for more then a few months! Once it became obvious why he kept disappearing leading up to full moon and coming back beaten up and looking even worse then usual…he was sacked. And those were hardly respectable jobs anyway._

 _But to teach at the school as a professor—around children?_

 _Dumbledore nodded in response to the question, his arms folded behind his back neatly. "We have an opening for a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."_

 _"I'm afraid I can't help you." Remus insisted rather bluntly, brushing past and stepping into the muddy field surrounding his house._

 _"Remus." Dumbledore called quietly, turning._

 _The werewolf stopped walking._

 _"I've already asked Severus if he wouldn't mind mixing up some potions for you to acquire once a month…"_

 _Wolfsbane._

 _Remus swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, feeling the rain trickle down his back. It was a rather expensive potion to buy, and very obvious if you started to pay for it regularly. He blinked water out of his eyes, half turning, meeting the old wizard's gaze. "What did Snape say?" There was a long-standing disagreement between the two of them, due to Sirius Black. Remus highly doubted Severus would agree to help him…despite how many years ago the incident had occurred._

 _"He already had a rather large batch in the making when I left." Dumbledore gazed at him out of round glasses, the tiny, encouraging smile still there. He knew exactly what he was doing._

 _"Then I suppose…I can make the arrangements." He agreed quietly, slowly trailing back through the mud to the front door. Him, as a teacher? How was he fit to teach children…in one way it felt like he'd barely graduated himself. Even though it had been years and years ago…before Lily and James had been murdered, before Sirius ended up in Azkaban…_

 _"Good." Dumbledore's pleased tone snapped Remus from his thoughts. "I look forward to seeing you in the new year." He flashed his former student another little smile before stepping into the rain and vanishing._

Remus stared down into the cup of tea Clara had made him, his mind returning to the present and listening to the Doctor rant about all the possible explanations as to how he ended up this far into the future. Clara's comment from last night was still swimming around in his head, hence the fact he'd recalled Dumbledore's visit and his agreement to teach at Hogwarts.

He was due to take the train and arrive at the school as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in a week.

Well, a week when he was at home, in his normal time. Not here, in the future. Was it even still technically a week? Remus didn't know. The idea of time travel made his head spin a bit.

"My other theory is this, it's entirely possible that he's not a wizard from a special magical world and is actually some other type of alien using a perception filter…"

Remus listened to the Doctor drone on, rubbing a hand against his forehead and feeling his head ache. Usually after full moon occurred he felt better. But not today, with this strange man rambling on.

"Why don't we just fly back to my home and I can prove it to you, since you're so suspicions about me being some sort of spy?" he suggested finally, trying to keep the slight irritation out of his voice. He wasn't sure how he'd prove it to them exactly, considering muggles couldn't even see the magical world…but it was better then sitting here listening to whatever rubbish the Doctor was coming up with.

"According to you, we can't just "fly back"." The Doctor reminded curtly. "Unless you're changing your story—"

"Doctor." Clara cut in. She'd been silent, listening to his varying explanations about who Remus was and how he'd gotten there. But she finally stood up, placing her empty tea up in the sink. "If you actually decided to believe him about the wizard world, maybe you could ask him if he actually had any ideas about *how* to get back?"

The Doctor stared at her, not wanting to admit that was actually a better idea then any of his so far. "It's not that I don't believe him, Clara." He insisted, attempting to cover up the fact he was making himself look like an idiot. "I just am not sure that he's not an imposter…"

"Okay, just stop." Clara insisted flatly. "Until yesterday you'd never heard of a magical world or wizards being real, correct?"

"Correct." The Doctor answered after a long silence.

"So if he was an imposter, don't you think he'd choose something you're actually familiar with so as not to be suspicious?" Clara folded her arms, gazing at him expectantly.

Remus looked up from the table, watching the scene curiously. While Clara had a good point he was surprised she would…simply trust what he said. Even with his little wand trick, most people weren't so accepting of something new that they'd never heard of before. Or trusting of a stranger. Especially when she knew his condition. Perhaps she was very naive…

"Well, Doctor?"

"If you want me to admit you have a good theory I'm not going to." He responded rather sullenly.

Clara rolled her eyes, turning to face Remus instead. "Can I borrow your wand?" she asked quietly.

Remus hesitated, knowing she was probably going to re-create what happened last night. Attempt to try a spell and fail, to prove what he'd said was true about the magical realm. But he was still reluctant, for many reasons. He pulled the item from the inside of his worn jacket, standing and passing it to her. "It's "Lumos"." He reminded as she took it carefully.

Clara felt the wand in her hand, the way it balanced, the grain of the wood. It felt…sort of alive in her fingers. Like it was buzzing with electricity.

'Magic'.

Her mind flashed back to last night, the way Remus had held the wand, the way he'd said the spell. "Lumos."

Nothing.

Clara couldn't help but feel a stab of disappointment, which surprised her.

"See, Clara…just because it doesn't work for you and I doesn't mean anything…"

Clara ignored the Doctor's voice and tried again. "Lumos. Lumos." Still nothing, not even the faintest glow. Trying to push back the frustration, Clara tried one more time.

"Lumos!"

Suddenly whatever the Doctor was saying got roughly cut off as light exploded into the room, causing all three to stumble backwards. Clara dropped the wand, and the light vanished.

There was a deathly silence.

Remus was staring at Clara, trying to mask the shock. She hadn't just conjured a spell, it had been unusually strong for a spell normally so gentle.

"What happened?" Clara whispered finally, her gaze snapping to him. "It wasn't supposed to do anything…"

"Clearly he is a liar." The Doctor answered, standing. "It is not a special magical wand and he is not a magical wizard—"

"No." Remus answered firmly. "Clara's not a muggle."


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you mean she's not human—of course she's human! I know *exactly* what she is."

"I don't mean that she's not human. What I am saying is that she has the ability to perform magic…"

Clara stood in her living room, listening to the Doctor argue with Remus, but truthfully the conversation was rather blurred. She was trying to digest what had just happened, and what Remus meant when he said she wasn't a muggle. She had taken the wand to prove to the Doctor their new…werewolf friend wasn't lying. Okay, maybe she had wanted it to work but she'd never actually expected it to. She hadn't expected something to come out of the end of the wand. Especially not a blinding bright light which was very different compared to the soft glow Remus had conjured.

"Can you both stop?!" she snapped finally, and the room went silent as both men turned to look at her. She wrapped both arms around herself in a defensive cocoon, trying very hard not to seem in the least bit anxious about what this meant. "Instead of arguing about what's happened it would be really nice if you could just tell me." She looked at Remus when she said this, knowing he was the only person in the entire world currently that could actually answer her. And she really, really need to know. Because she didn't like being scared.

Remus was silent for a moment, one of his hands nervously reaching up to push his hair off his forehead. "Your friend couldn't preform the spell because he's not magical." He answered finally, gesturing to the Doctor briefly with one hand. "You could."

This was a rather obvious fact, and didn't make Clara feel much better. "Yes but….why? Couldn't it just be an accident…"

"No." Remus didn't even consider the idea. "You either possess the ability or you don't."

Clara stared at him for a long moment before her gaze darted to the Doctor, who's expression was unreadable. "Then…what does that mean? I thought you said children received a letter…"

"Normally they do." Remus sighed, feeling just as confused as Clara was. He hadn't come across anything like this before in his life, or even heard of it. "Perhaps there was a confusion with the fact you can travel in time or something…"

"The Impossible Girl."

"I'm sorry?" Remus looked at her, and Clara swallowed, glancing at the Doctor hesitantly. The words had slipped out without her thinking.

"I'm the Impossible Girl."

"And what does that mean exactly?"

"It's complicated." The Doctor answered briskly, standing up. "But it could be the reason why the letter wasn't delivered."

There was a rather awkward silence.

"What does this mean?" Clara asked finally. "What do I have to…do?"

"Well, there's only two choices. You can pretend like none of this ever happened, drop me home and do…whatever it is you normally do." Remus offered finally, giving them both a rather serious look. "Or, you can learn magic and become a witch."

It was absolutely insane, the fact that she was a grown woman and hadn't received a letter, hadn't even *heard* of the magical realm yet conjured a spell far stronger then the one she'd asked for. It was a little intimidating even, and Remus wasn't sure he wanted to handle the consequences of it. This was a situation for Dumbledore or the Ministry…not him. He was just a poor, broken man with an uncurbable illness.

'Yet somehow, you're going to be a professor at Hogwarts.' His head reminded him quietly.

"I can't just ignore this." Clara looked rather shocked at the idea. "This changes everything."

"Clara, you can't just go off with a strange man and be taught how to wave a stick." The Doctor cut in, his face far from happy as he thought of the possibilities. "I'm still not convinced he's not an imposter…"

"We do not "wave sticks"." Remus replied dryly, wondering how on earth this man was trusted with a time machine.

"Well, what do you call that then? It's made out of wood!"

"It's a wand."

"Sure it is, but it's made out of a tree. It's wood. It's thin. Therefore it's a stick!"

Remus opened his mouth to reply, then shut it, noticing Clara had abruptly left the room. No doubt it was a big shock for her…and having petty disagreements wasn't helping clear her head. He turned back to the Doctor, his scarred face rather serious. "Whatever it is you think I am, whatever world you think I'm from. She is now a part of it. Like it or not."

The Doctor met his gaze, and it was steely. "Maybe so, but that doesn't change the fact I'm not letting her get anymore meddled into it."

"That's not your choice to make." Remus replied quietly before spinning away, tentatively going to find Clara.

She was sitting out back on the porch, her hands folded in her lap and fiddling with her skirt. She jumped a bit when he came up next to her, pushing his hands into his pockets and looking just as awkward as he felt.

"It shouldn't be too much of a surprise to me, you know." She murmured quietly, staring out at the lawn. "I've experienced so many weird and wonderful things in time and space that this…should be nothing. Especially when you just explained it last night…"

"You didn't think it applied to you, though." Remus paused before sitting down a foot away from her. Clara glanced over at him uncertainly, more nervous then she wanted to admit.

She couldn't stay here and continue teaching, living the same life traveling with the Doctor knowing there was a whole different world she could belong in and be a part of. "I'd have to go back with you, though…and be taught how to do it all properly. Would I go to the school? I'm a bit old for it."

Remus smiled faintly as she thought aloud. Despite the fact she was obviously a little scared, she seemed more curious then anything else. She'd shown that quality already last night when she'd seen his little spell come to life. "It all depends on what you want to do." He replied quietly. "The details can all be sorted out later…if you decide it's what you want to do." He got back to his feet and left her to think about it, going back to his little room she'd let him stay in and sitting on the bed.

What *would they do if she did decide to learn? She couldn't go to Hogwarts and be in a class like the rest of the students…for one she'd be teased relentlessly. She'd need private schooling…a tutor of some sorts….

Remus wasn't sure how long he was in there, rubbing his fingers through his hair and over the rough scars on his face, thinking the matter over and over and over again along with his worries about teaching at Hogwarts—and then there was this whole time travel matter. How had he even ended up here at all? Finally there was a little cough that interrupted his thoughts and he glanced up, finding Clara standing in the doorway with a small plate of sandwiches and some more tea.

"I thought you might be hungry."

Remus blinked before gesturing that she was allowed to come inside. She set the plate on the bedside table along with the tea.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Clara fiddled with her shirt collar. "I've tried to think about it and come to a good decision, but my head just won't let me even consider staying here and…forgetting. Or trying to."

Remus wasn't that surprised. It was a whole new world for her to explore, new abilities for her to figure out…and she'd been so excited about the idea last night. "I've been thinking about it myself." He admitted, helping himself to a sandwich and chewing thoughtfully, trying to organize his thoughts. "The wizarding world isn't exactly in the most welcoming state currently." That was putting it lightly. He didn't want to get into the gritty details of why, especially since Clara was a muggle-born and things could get a bit awkward. "It would be difficult for you to just enter into it unprepared. You'd need some training first, practice learning spells…and you might decide you don't like it and would rather not come."

"Are you offering to teach me?" Clara asked quietly, staring at him with an unreadable expression.

Remus gave a very slow nod. It wasn't like there was anyone else around that could. And he supposed it would be good practice for going back to Hogwarts. "On a few conditions." He added when Clara's eyes widened rather excitedly.

"What?"

"The first one being you are to be totally honest with me. If you don't like it at all, in any way, we stop. I go home, and you stay here and forget about it all." He waited for Clara to nod before continuing. "The second being you're to do everything exactly as I tell you." She obviously had a very "natural" ability and Remus didn't want to get accidently blasted into another dimension because she got overly eager.

"I promise." Clara replied solemnly.

"Alright." Remus paused, trying to think if there was anything else and drawing a blank. No doubt many questions would come up as they went along anyway. He would bet a lot of money on it. "I suppose we'll need to find a rather secluded place to go for a couple days…"

"I'll ask the Doctor." Clara swung away to the doorway, pausing briefly to flash him a rather happy smile. "Thank you!"

Remus listened to her run downstairs, trying not to grin. He somehow doubted she'd still be this happy once they were actually practicing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Shout out to the one person that keeps leaving me really lovely comments on each chapter I write-you're awesome! 3**

 **Also thank you to everyone else who's followed/faved this story it means a lot to me. Please do leave me a little review down below with your thoughts I'd love to hear them!**

The Doctor had flown them to an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It was quite beautiful, and the perfect place to practice magic without worrying about someone spotting them. Well, that was the plan. However Remus was still getting used to the idea of actually staying inside the Tardis.

Clara had shown him around briefly, assuring him it was very easy to get lost and he might want either herself or the Doctor to accompany him to his room till he got used to the endless corridors. "There's a library, and a swimming pool…and any other room you can imagine really."

"How long have you been traveling with him?" Remus asked, passing a dimly lit room that had a rather large pool table in the middle of it and music playing softly from some sort of speaker.

"Oh…a few years. You lose count of time eventually, everything sort of blurs together." Clara glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was still following. "That's your room there. It's actually not far from mine. Usually the bedrooms stay together."

"Usually?" Remus couldn't help but sound both amused and a little uncertain about the idea of rooms that moved.

"Sometimes they move." Clara hesitated before coming a bit closer and whispering. "The Tardis can get a bit…you know sometimes and shift them around or hide them, so you can't find them at all."

Remus looked very doubtful, but he couldn't help but cast a wary glance around at the strange tunnels. "So it's alive? This space…box?" He glanced back at Clara to find she'd already whisked around a corner and hurriedly ran to catch up, not really feeling in the mood for getting lost with a machine that could get grumpy and decide to play tricks on you.

"Of course she's alive. She chooses who she likes and dislikes, gets a bit jealous sometimes I think…the Doctor likes his private time with her." Clara gave a rather wide smile recalling it. "She took awhile to warm up to me, I'll tell you that!"

Remus wasn't sure if he should be concerned about this conversation. She was referring to a blue box that was bigger on the inside—much, much bigger—like it had emotions. "She?"

"The Doctor always refers to the Tardis as a 'her'…so yes. She." Clara tried not to splutter at Lupin's very conflicted expression. "You'll get used to it," she promised with a grin.

"If you say so." Remus gave a little shake of his head, casting a final glance over his shoulder at the winding hallways before following Clara into the control room. The Doctor was messing about with his electric guitar, the sound causing Remus to flinch with his overly sensitive hearing—the result of being a werewolf. Luckily the old, strange space man put it away when they came closer, much to Remus's relief.

"So, I take it you've shown him all my secrets?" he asked of Clara quite dryly, casting Remus a not so friendly glance. They still didn't seem to get along. Lupin wasn't sure if it was because he was a werewolf, because the Doctor didn't believe in what he said about magic, or something else.

"Even I don't know all your secrets." Clara reminded with a raised brow. "And I don't think he's quite ready for most of it anyway."

"I suppose not." The Doctor agreed, still staring at their new 'friend'. He had been highly reluctant to even bring them to this island to practice, and it had taken a great deal of convincing from Clara before they finally flew off. Remus felt highly awkward about the situation, even though he was used to having people stare at him with resentment—and all other forms of negativity really.

'How are you going to teach again?' his head whispered for seemingly the thousandth time since Dumbledore had knocked on his door that rainy day. He honestly had no idea. And felt a little sorry for Clara who was going to find out how good—or more realistically terrible—he actually was at it.

"Shall we get started?" he offered politely, deciding going outside and getting busy would be the best idea. He didn't feel like standing here having the Doctor glare at him like he was positive Remus had robbed him of something. Or was going to.

"Yes please." Clara immediately dashed for the door, which she eagerly held open for Remus before it quietly shut behind them both, leaving the Doctor alone with his Tardis and guitar, muttering uncoherent things.

Remus and Clara walked away from the trees to a rather large clearing with long grass. The birds were softly singing in the branches and there was the sound of the waves crashing on the beach not that far off. Clara was buzzing, feeling both incredibly nervous and excited at the same time. She could barely stand still while Remus examined the area carefully before deeming it would suffice for their lessons.

Truthfully he was just stalling because he was terrified about actually teaching her. "Right." He reached into his jacket and retrieved his wand, passing it to her carefully. "I think we shall start with some easy spells to try and gain more control first."

Clara nodded, her mouth a little dry as she fingered the smooth wood and felt that familiar static pulsing from the object. Starting easy seemed like a very good idea. "Can we practice the light spell again?"

Remus thought about it a moment before nodding. It was actually a good idea. She'd probably feel more comfortable trying something new if she was positive she could perfect the spell that had…gone a bit wrong before. "Try saying it very clearly—don't rush or get impatient, and really think about what you want to happen. Don't think about the large blast of light you got last time, just a nice, soft glow."

Clara watched as he stepped to the side a little warily, but tried not to focus on that. She shifted the wand in her hand, holding it lightly, not gripping it. She wanted a nice, soft glow…just from the end of the wand. She closed her eyes a moment to picture it, then opened it and murmured very quietly. "Lumos."

Nothing happened, Clara took a deep breath and let it out.

'Don't get impatient.'

"Lumos." She said it more clearly and was pleased when she was rewarded with the perfect glow she wanted. She flashed Remus a rather overly thrilled smile that was a little catching.

"Good." Remus nodded, unable to help but feel a little pleased for her. "Try it again a few times till you've got it."

Clara repeated the spell three times with the exact result, before Remus taught her "lumos maxima". "This is what you managed to do the last time...I'm still trying to figure out how." He briefly fixed her wrist position, explaining briefly how she needed to keep her arm very elastic throughout the elbow and not tense up. "I'm glad you're not clenching the wand, just keep the rest of your arm relaxed so it cam move freely. It becomes more important later."

Lumos maxima was harder for Clara. She was more nervous about doing something wrong and took about a dozen more tries before she was comfortable with it and happy to move onto something else. Remus briefly took his wand back to transfigure a stone he'd found into a cup for Clara to use for her next spell. Clara was of course, very fascinated watching him.

"The incantation for this one is "aguamenti". It should produce a clear jet of water from the end of the wand." He passed her his wand back. "And it is very tempting to hit the glass if it doesn't work so again, patience."

However while he expected her to take even longer with this one then the previous, she had it down in only a few tries. Remus wasn't quite sure what to think, if he should be elated for her or a little nervous about the fact she learned so quickly.

"Very good." He briefly took the glass to look inside. It was full of water, for the fourth time. "I think we should stop there for today…you don't want to get a headache."

He could tell her head was a little uncomfortable from concentrating so much, as she kept reaching a hand up to rub her temple.

"Thank you, Remus." She passed him his wand back, looking a little flushed and very happy.

He shrugged, not knowing quite what else to do and they both turned to walk back to the blue box. She had natural talent that was quite powerful…he was hoping he didn't need to be worried about it. "Make sure you don't get too talented, alright? Or I might be out of a job."

Clara gave a little laugh at that idea. "I don't think it would happen that quickly…"

"You never know." Remus offered with a wry smile, though part of him wasn't joking at all.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor stood in the doorway to his blue box, watching through the trees as Clara and Lupin practiced again for the third time that day. They spent hours together, Clara always dragging the werewolf back outside insisting she didn't have a headache and she was fine to practice. And she was always pestering him with questions about the magical world he'd come from.

It made him slightly jealous and a bit sad, recalling how she used to travel with him regularly, annoying him with all sorts of questions about planets and aliens and sticking her nose into anything and everything.

He knew she was going to go off with the strange, ragged man they'd met in the park, despite him not wanting her to. He'd always known Clara was special—it had been obvious when he'd met her twice and both times she'd died. The Impossible Girl. His Clara, now even more special then she imagined. She belonged in a world he didn't. A world of magic.

Clara flopped on the grass for a little break, brushing the hair away from her face and attempting to catch her breath. "Tell me about Hogwarts." She requested after a moment, glancing over at Remus who sat down next to her, looking rather frazzled. "What's it like?"

Remus was silent for a moment, thinking over the answer, feeling lots of old memories come flooding back. "It's very beautiful." He murmured finally. "And just being on the grounds gives you a feeling of…peace and belonging." His gaze moved to the gap in the trees where he could see the Doctor watching them. The strange man that called himself a "time lord" seemed to be unhappy with the amount of time Clara was spending with him.

"You mentioned that you were going to teach." Clara probed, jerking his thoughts away from the figure in the blue box.

"Yes." He answered rather reluctantly. "Dumbledore asked me to." Even after teaching Clara for the past two days he still didn't feel like it was the best decision, teaching students how to defend themselves…being around kids with his condition.

"I think you're going to be amazing." Clara stated quietly, and Remus glanced at her quickly.

"You're just being nice." He insisted wryly.

"No I'm not!" Clara folded her arms. "You're brilliant at teaching me."

"You're easy." Remus admitted, raking a hand through his hair briefly. "You pick things up in minutes when most people would take hours or even days. Besides, I'm supposed to be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts and we haven't done any of that."

It was the absolute wrong thing to say.

Clara jumped up, snatching his wand from his jacket pocket rather quickly. "Well then, I suppose we better spend some time doing that."

Remus gave her look that was an attempt at covering up his nervousness at the idea with annoyance. "You've only been training at magic for three days. You can't go and learn defence spells."

"Why not?" Clara challenged, raising brow and asked rather sarcastically, "Am I too old?"

Remus stared at her for a long moment, knowing he was just making excuses and she knew it. First year students were required to take the class...and Clara was already far better than most third years in only a few days. "You win." He admitted finally, getting up and then realizing something. "It's going to be rather difficult without both of us having a wand…"

Clara's face fell a little at this which made the corners of Remus's mouth turn up a little. She really did enjoy all this… "I suppose if you've decided you really want to come back with me there's no harm in visiting briefly to get you a wand…"

"Really?" Clara's excitement was rather catching and Remus gave a little grin and nodded. "If you really want to come to Hogwarts…"

He still wasn't sure how it would work exactly, as he had yet to ask Dumbledore if it was possible for Clara to accompany him to the school. Already Remus was positive she'd make herself valuable. Despite her petite appearance and kindness, she had a special aura about her that told Remus it would be best not to get on her bad side. If anything, she could help him in classes as an assistant. He had a feeling she'd make plenty of friends—wither the other person wanted to be friends or not.

"Yes. I want to come." Clara stated the words firmly, meeting his gaze levelly, showing Remus she wasn't changing her mind.

She had no idea about the dangers, about what could happen in the future, that her kind—muggle borns—were frowned on by some wizards to the point of being tortured and killed. But it was too late to try and tell her this to make sure she still wanted to come, she wasn't changing her mind.

/

Clara's eyes widened as she stood in the middle of the cobbled stone street next to Remus, watching the witches and wizards bustle in and out of shops, chatting to each other.

Diagon Alley…they were here to buy her a wand. She swallowed the lump in her throat, suddenly feeling nervous and out of place with her usual bright dress.

"You're fine." Remus whispered quietly, just loud enough for her to hear. He knew exactly what it was like to feel like you didn't belong in a place, that you weren't good enough. "This is the world you belong in now."

'Do I belong here?' Clara's gaze swept over the different shop names as she followed him closely. Quality Quidditch Supplies, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Potage's Cauldron Shop, Gringgott's Wizarding Bank…there was even an Ice cream parlour.

"Remus," Clara whispered, waiting for him to turn his head to look at her. "What's Quidditch?"

He gave a little knowing smile. "I'll show you when we go to Hogwarts." He had a feeling, just getting to know her in the past few days, she'd probably want to try it. He grimaced at the idea before stopping. Clara nearly smacked into him she was following so closely.

"Here you go." He gestured to the peeling gold letters that read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC.

Clara blinked, staring at the single wand on display on the fading purple cushion. "This is it?" she muttered, looking rather disappointed.

Remus chuckled just a little, opening the door for her. "Just come inside."

Clara brushed past him into the tiny, narrow shop, her eyes widening when they caught sight of the thousands upon thousands of boxes piled high to the ceiling. "Are all those…?"

"Wands? Yes." Remus replied with another grin, glancing up and meeting the gaze of a white-haired man.

"Remus Lupin…good to see you." He greeted rather fondly, his pale gaze moving to Clara. "Who's this?"

"A friend." Remus answered smoothly, his hands in his jacket pocket, looking strangely at ease. He'd seemed so awkward and out of place to Clara, when he'd been at her house…but it made sense, if he was used to this place. This entire world. A shiver ran down her back as his words echoed in her head.

'You belong here now.'

"She needs a wand."

Mr. Ollivander tutted, glancing over Clara briefly. "What was the make of her previous one?"

"She hasn't had one before." Remus murmured quietly. Clara flinched just a little.

"Really?" the shopkeeper's eyes widened but he didn't ask anymore questions. "Well, let's get started shall we?"

Clara wasn't sure what exactly to expect when shopping for a wand, but she certainly didn't expect to get measured all over by Ollivander, then have different wands presented to her.

"The wand chooses the wizard—or in your case, the witch." He explained shortly, putting away another narrow box. "Perhaps this one…" he muttered, coming back with another one. Clara was positive she'd already tried at least a hundred but to no avail.

After what seemed like hours they finally left the shop with her wand. Cedar core, unicorn hair, twelve inches.

"Mine is longer then yours." Clara teased Remus with a grin. His was only ten and a quarter inches.

"That's because you're so tiny." He responded easily, giving her a look. "You have to compensate."

Clara gave him a shove but it only budged him a little which made him grin again. He'd been smiling a lot today, actually…

"Happy?" he questioned her quietly as they walked back after looking into the other shops, Clara seemingly less nervous about feeling out of place and more excited then anything else.

"Very happy." She murmured contentedly and then added, "Can we practice when we get back?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "I suppose."


	7. Chapter 7

Clara couldn't have been happier as she changed into her pyjamas and placed her wand carefully on the bedside table. She had successfully learned how to block, and though she was rather sore from all her failed attempts that ended up with her skidded across the grass or landing on her back, she was absolutely thrilled. She'd loved the little taste of the wizarding world she'd seen just by visiting Diagon Alley and couldn't wait to see the rest. There was so much she needed to learn still…and Remus had promised if she came with him to Hogwarts there was an entire library she could use.

She wriggled under the covers, switching off the lamp. Due to extreme exhaustion, she fell asleep quite easily, her head filled with all sorts of magical ideas and the memory of her amazing day that was only a little glimpse at the life she was going to live now.

/

Despite the late hour, Remus wasn't asleep. He was lying on his bed on top of the covers staring up at the ceiling and the strange light reflections. The Tardis made many strange noises at night due to the endless corridors and rooms. But it wasn't the sounds that were keeping him awake, it was Clara. The more he practiced with her the more worried he got. Because she was good. Really good. She'd learned how to block an attack spell in half an hour. And while she credited her skills on his teaching he knew better. Her natural talent was rather overwhelming and kept his mind racing on what to actually *do* with her. Dumbledore would know…in fact he'd been quite fascinated. In fact, Remus was positive he'd want to keep close tabs on Clara, which at least would make it easy for him to take her to Hogwarts. However her ability would draw more attention that just Dumbledore…bad attention. This was what was bothering Remus the most.

How ever his thoughts quickly got distracted when he heard a rather loud clatter from the room a few feet down the hall. Clara's room. He sat up, listening to the silence that followed before his feet hit the floor and he went to look.

"Clara?" he gave a little knock. He slowly pushed the door open, his eyes easily adjusting to the dark—werewolf perks—and finding the young witch upright, her eyes rather wide with fright as she stared at the corner of the room where a black mark stained the wall. She'd used an attack spell?! He hadn't even taught her one! "Clara, you alright?"

Clara's wild, frightened eyes snapped to him. "Yes." She whispered shakily, but looked far from it. "Yeah…I'm fine." She swallowed and flicked on the lamp.

Remus hesitantly walked over to the wall, running his fingers along the blackened paint and the hairline cracks. "Did you do this?" he glanced up and saw her nod, the fingers clutching her wand were white.

"On purpose?"

Clara was silent for a moment. "There was a wolf."

Remus's blood suddenly turned ice cold. He stared at her.

"Right there." Clara gestured to the spot he was standing in, in front of the blackened wall. "It was going to jump at me so I just…" she swallowed, meeting his gaze.

The silence was deafening, until a voice suddenly interrupted.

"Everything alright?"

All four eyes turned to the new figure that stood in the doorway, the Doctor.

"Clara just had a bad dream." Remus attempted to smooth it over, since Clara herself still looked incredibly shaken up. Inwardly he rather felt the same, her words echoing in his head. 'There was a wolf. It was going to jump on me…'

The Doctor's gaze slid from Lupin to his companion. Clara just managed a stiff nod, gingerly placing her wand back on the bedside table. "I'm just…going to get some air." She whispered before getting up and brushing past them both.

After a few moments the sound of the Tardis doors shutting reached their ears.

"She just had a bad dream…"

Remus met the Doctor's gaze once more, finding it accusing. Like he'd done something.

"Yes." He repeated, wondering why this man hated him so much.

"Clara has faced more aliens then you can imagine, crossed paths with death more times then I like to count, explored new and old planets, flown about in time and space…she doesn't get scared by bad dreams."

"Everyone has something they're afraid of, Doctor." Remus replied rather quietly, taking a step toward the doorway and looking him in the eye. "If you're looking for reasons to hate me, perhaps you should try asking me for good ones. So far the ones you've come up with are terrible."

The Doctor's mouth tightened in a fine line. "Get out."

Remus brushed past him but didn't go to his room, he followed the hallways back to the control room before pushing open the door and going to find Clara.

'There was a wolf. It was going to jump on me…' The words swirled through his head again.

Clara had gone all the way to the coast of the island. She stood in the sand at the edge of the water, her eyes focused on the half-moon in the dark sky. She jumped when Remus came up beside her. He followed her gaze briefly, feeling a lump form in his throat as he pushed his hands into his pockets. "It wasn't…just a wolf. Was it?" he glanced at her sideways.

Clara reluctantly shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "It's not your fault." She whispered after a long moment. "I was…reading something."

Remus's gaze shot to her again. "Reading what?"

"About…them."

The fact she didn't want to say the word caused a terrible crushing feeling inside him. Like someone was trying to juice him. "Werewolves." He stated quietly. It wasn't a question.

Clara nodded again. "I didn't want to ask…"

"Why?"

"Because I didn't think you'd want to talk about it."

Remus looked back out at the dark horizon, listening to the sound of the waves lapping at their feet. That was true. He didn't want to talk about it. He hated the subject…because everyone else did. Because everyone else got all…weird about it. "I'd have told you." He promised after a moment. "It's best you know what you're signing up or if you're going to be around me." His voice sounded awfully defeated. Just reading about the monsters—people like *him*-had been bad enough to give her a nightmare. A nightmare bad enough that she lashed out with her wand and she didn't even know any attack spells! Remus raked another hand through his hair, his gaze moving back to the moon above them.

"I'm sorry." Clara whispered after a moment.

"For what?" Remus was genuinely confused. He should be the one that was sorry.

"For what happened to you." Clara looked up at him. In the darkness, she could see what he tried to hide during the day. Behind his eyes, lit up by the starlight, was the face of the creature buried inside him. She swallowed. "No one should have to go through that."

She was looking at him strangely. Remus shifted uneasily, trying to pinpoint the expression on her face and what it meant. Most people got all awkward once they found out—most people called him a monster and ran away.

'She already knew what you were…'

And she'd read more about the subject! And now she was staring at him funny. Not with terror or hatred but with…pity. And something else. He snapped his gaze away, back behind them to the forest. "We should go back." He took a few steps toward the trees before turning and glancing at her expectantly. "Coming? You'd be best to rest up before we try and get control of those spells again tomorrow."

Clara looked up at the moon a final time before trailing after him. They walked in sync, slowly.

"Do you know lots of other werewolves?" Clara asked after a moment. Remus sensed the hidden question behind it. She was thinking about going back with him, if she'd be in danger. And he had a feeling she didn't particularly want to be in that position.

"Not at Hogwarts." He replied, knowing that didn't completely answer the question. The real answer wouldn't be near as comforting.

"You don't have to say it just to make me feel better." Clara insisted. "I'd much prefer the truth."

"I am telling you the truth!" Remus glanced at her quickly, wondering what she was playing at, exactly.

"Good." Clara gave him a look before brushing past and going inside the Tardis. Remus followed her slowly, pausing when she reached her room. Not exactly knowing what to say he dipped his head a bit awkwardly, getting ready to turn away when a pair of arms flashed around his neck and Clara hugged him tightly. It left him more shocked then anything else, as she pulled away abruptly afterwards and shut her door.


	8. Chapter 8

Clara and Remus continued their regular practices over the next two days. Just when Remus was positive he'd found something difficult for her, she'd throw a spanner in the works, so to speak, and surprise him. It was still intimidating to think he was teaching her the equivalent of year 4 and sometimes 5 spells when she'd only started learning at the beginning of the week. You wouldn't want to get on her bad side, that was for sure…if anyone tried to take advantage of her, thinking it would be simple because of her being so new to magic, they'd probably get horribly surprised.  
There were some things he couldn't teach her yet, obviously, due to being stuck in a forest. She was still very curious about what "Quidditch" was, along with that Remus had a feeling she'd be very keen to learn all about the magical creatures, potions, and anything she could get her hands on really.  
However there was still the issue of asking Dumbledore if she could stay…and along with that many other things that needed sorting. Remus was still wondering how to go about it, even though he was positive the old wizard wouldn't want to turn Clara away he didn't want to disappoint her.  
'Hogwarts is home to anyone who needs it.' He reminded himself silently. And if that included him, surely it could include someone like Clara. Especially when she seemed to eager to learn everything she could to be useful. Remus smiled faintly to himself thinking about how much she was going to love it. 'If she's allowed to stay…' His thoughts came back in full circle once more and caused him to sigh. He just needed to stop worrying and let things play out. Yes, she'd be disappointed if she wasn't able to stay at Hogwarts, but that didn't mean she couldn't stay in the wizarding world in general, surely?  
"You okay?" Clara's voice snapped him from his continuing thoughts. "We're ready to go."  
Remus glanced up from where he sat on his bed, realizing he must have looked upset, with his head in his hands trying to get rid of his aching head. "He's found a way to get us back, then?"

The issue of Remus time-traveling by accident had come up again when trying to fly to Diagon Alley. IThe Doctor was still suspicious of *how* he'd managed to arrive in London so far in the future.  
"Are you sure you don't have time travel where you're from? All these spells you're teaching Clara and all the magical smagical…stuff in your world surely there's a way to travel in time?" he'd insisted rather sarcastically. He'd seemed to accept—rather grumpily—the fact that Remus was not lying about the magical world. It was rather hard to deny such a thing with how far along Clara had come. But that didn't stop the Doctor from making snide comments and just on the whole being irritable about the subject. Remus had a feeling the old man was more annoyed about him stealing Clara than anything else. Remus also didn't really blame him—the Doctor was so annoying he probably didn't have any other friends. In fact, Remus was still wondering why Clara liked the him so much…it was like he was her hero or something.  
"We do have a means of time travel." He'd answered slowly, "But it's not something that I could do in my other form."  
"The werewolf." He really liked to keep bringing it up, as if he enjoyed seeing Remus flinch.  
"Yes." Remus replied a little touchily. They *had* talked about this multiple times already. "There's different types of Time Turners, some are very basic and only take you back a few hours. Others could take you far into the future or far enough back in time you could mess everything up."  
"Touchy business, time travel." The Doctor agreed, scanning Remus with a weird green light coming from the end of some sort of device that made him squint his eyes. "Probably shouldn't be left in the hands of people who like to wave sticks."  
Remus had decided to ignore that remark, knowing the Doctor was just trying to annoy him. Nothing out of the usual since they'd met! "The question is, are you able to get me back."  
"I'm insulted you would even ask such a question." The Doctor muttered, not glancing up as he fiddled with the control panel and then climbed down underneath to do wiring. Remus threw Clara an exasperated and almost desperate look. She seemed to be able to reason with the weird space man…unlike him. She'd tried to convince him he wasn't always like this, but the conversation had ended when Remus had asked how often *wasn't* he like this. "I can't just stay here."  
"He always finds a way." She'd promised, giving him an encouraging smile. "Let's go practice and leave him to figure it out."

Remus wasn't entirely convinced, but a day later and Clara was in the doorway of his room saying they could go back. It had to be some sort of miracle.  
"I told you, he always finds a way." Clara gestured for him to get up and follow her.  
"No one's invincible." Remus reminded rather dryly, feeling very doubtful that suddenly they could go back after a week of waiting—yes, the Doctor had been working on it during all that time but still. It seemed rather impossible. Especially when he kept going on about how "delicate" time travel was.  
Clara smiled to herself almost knowingly and didn't say anything, only led him back to the control room where the Doctor leaned on the console with his usual unreadable expression.  
"Clara said you need to go back to the day after you came here, to catch the train."  
"Yes." Remus cast her a sideways glance. He hadn't told Clara that professors and teachers at Hogwarts didn't usual take the express. It was for students…  
'Too poor.' His head reminded him in a nasty little voice and he swallowed. The Tardis wouldn't be able to land on the Hogwarts grounds—as far as Remus could figure out anyway. So they'd have to go to the station and travel with all the kids going too.  
"Right," the Doctor turned to put in the coordinates, "1993, King's Cross Station…you should arrive just in time for the train…"  
"I have to get my things!" Remus reminded sharply, briefly panicking at the idea of turning up at Hogwarts without his belongings.  
"Oh." The Doctor frowned. "You mean you have valuables? I would have never guessed…"  
He received a rather sharp look from Clara at this and awkwardly cleared his throat. "Where's your house?"  
Remus felt his heart sink a little at the idea of Clara seeing his rundown place…that was barely a house at all. "Yorkshire." He murmured quietly, giving the address even more faintly.  
"You can stay in here…I won't be very long." Remus insisted to Clara as calmly as he could once the Tardis landed outside his little cottage.  
"I can help you pack, it'll make it faster." Clara pushed past him and Remus felt too awkward to grab her back. He trailed to the front door and pushed it open while Clara was admiring the miles of field and forestry around him. It was rather in the middle of nowhere. It had to be.  
He had already set out all the things he was going to take before full moon, always well prepared. He hated being last minute with events. Everything was laid out in his "bedroom". It wasn't really a bedroom. The window was smashed, there were no curtains, no clothes hanging in the closet, and his bed was an old mattress with a blanket. Everything was kept as tidy as possible…however considering he spent a good amount of his day finding something to eat it was rather difficult to make the house look like something it wasn't.  
"Remus…" Clara's voice sounded from the main room. "You don't actually live here…do you?"  
He flinched a little at the tone and question, shutting his briefcase with a gentle click. "This is where I live." He stated matter-of-factually coming out his room to meet her rather shocked and troubled gaze.  
"Why?" Clara whispered, unable to understand it. She was too kind, too accepting, didn't understand how people treated his kind.  
Remus pushed a hand through his hair, his gaze darting away from her to one of the broken windows. "There was an Anti-Werewolf-Legislation put into place earlier this year." He stated finally. "It was hard for me to get a job before but now it's impossible." he forced a rather tight smile to look back at her. "I manage just fine…Dumbledore offered me the position at Hogwarts anyway, so everything it going to be even easier."  
"This doesn't look easy." Clara murmured, meeting his gaze.  
"Well, I'm not dead yet so I have to be doing something right." Remus attempted to joke. Clara didn't find it particularly funny. "Stop worrying." He insisted finally, giving her a little nudge before they left the run-down shack for the Tardis, and went on their way to King's Cross Station.  
Silently, Clara was even more glad she was coming with him. Someone had to make sure this never happened to him again…that things only got better from now on.


	9. Chapter 9

Clara gazed out the window of the train as it slowly moved out of the station. She was finally starting out on her new adventure.

It was so strange to think that she'd only met Remus just over a week ago. She felt like she'd known him for years and already trusted him completely. She sort of had to, considering she was now apart of a completely new and fascinating world not even her oldest friend the Doctor knew about.

She opened her bag to sort through what she'd brought, hoping she hadn't forgotten anything important. The Doctor had insisted once she was at Hogwarts he could latch onto her signal and land the Tardis, so theoretically she didn't need to worry about forgetting things. But she didn't want to be under prepared for what was ahead. Although, Remus only had his briefcase.

Her eyes darted to it, sitting on the floor by his feet. There were old, peeling letters on the side. Professor R. J. Lupin.

"Remus?" she asked, turning to him.

The werewolf was resting his head against the window, tucked away in his robes and looked like he was half asleep. His eyes shot open at her voice, and Clara felt rather guilty.

"Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. I always fall asleep on the train." he admitted, pushing a hand underneath his head. "An old habit from when I was a kid."

Clara smiled a little, "I was just wondering if you've been a professor before?" At his confused look she gestured to the briefcase.

"No." Remus stared at the lettering with a rather far away look in his eyes. "But I was a Prefect at Hogwarts, back in the day...my friends always joked about me becoming a professor so they got me the case and put the letters on one Christmas. We used to sit right here, you know." he nodded to the seats they were on and the ones across. "James and Lily, Sirius and Peter, and me."

Clara stared at him, at the sudden sadness that flickered across his face. Despite his young appearance he suddenly looked very old, and there were flecks of grey in his hair. She had the urge to ask what had happened, but felt like it was an answer she didn't want to hear. And one Remus wouldn't want to give so they sat in silence instead. Clara thinking about Hogwarts and running over all her spells, Remus recalling the good old days with his friends that were long gone. Eventually he settled with his head back against the window, and when Clara looked over at him again he was fast asleep. She hoped he was having sweet dreams.

The door slid open hesitantly, and Clara glanced up to meet the gaze of three kids, two boys and a girl, looking rather tentatively at her and Remus.

"Is it alright if we sit here?" The girl asked quietly.

Clara nodded as the students filed in and slowly sat down across from her and Remus. "I'm Clara." she introduced herself after a moment.

"Hermione." the girl gave her a little smile before turning to both boys. "This is Ron," she nodded to the one with bright red hair and freckles who gave a weak smile. "And Harry."

Clara glanced at the second boy, and through his mop of black hair and round glasses found a startling pair of green eyes. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Harry offered a smile before gesturing to the sleeping Remus. "Your friend?"

Clara nodded. "Remus. He's asleep...said it's an old habit from when he was a kid."

"He's going to be teaching at the school?" Hermione asked, catching sight of the briefcase and lettering.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts, I think." Clara answered with a small nod. "If I remember correctly."

When the three turned to talk among themselves Clara swept her gaze back to the window, deep in her thoughts again as she tried not to unintentionally eavesdrop. A woman with a sweet trolley came by, and the black-haired boy Harry offered to buy her something to which she politely declined, scribbling away in his diary instead.

She wasn't sure how much time had gone by before it suddenly felt very cold. The rain outside turned to sleet against the windows, and Clara could see her breath in the air. She shivered, putting her diary away and wrapping her arms around herself. She was about to ask one of the kids if it was normally this cold when she caught sight of the window. The ice crept across the glass slowly, before freezing completely.

Then in the corner of Clara's vision, something slid across the door. Her brown eyes glanced over, widening at the hovering figure behind the glass. It was hooded in a dark cloak, it's bony hand with no flesh reached out and the door to their compartment slowly slid open.

Maybe it was the cold, but for a moment neither the kids nor Clara could move, they just sat in terror. Then Clara snapped herself out of it, keeping her gaze on the monster but reaching over and nudging the sleeping man beside her. "Remus." She murmured quietly, hoping this was a friendly magical creature but at the same time somehow severely doubting it. "Remus!"

Suddenly he was on his feet, a thin, wisp of silver produced from the end of his wand and shot toward the cloaked monster, which hurriedly vanished.

"Is everyone alright?" he glanced at Clara first, waiting for her to nod tensely before looking at the kids. Something flickered in his eyes when they landed on Harry, who looked more shaken up then the others.

"What was that?"

"A Dementor. It was looking for Sirius Black." Remus answered slowly, putting his wand away and pulling out something wrapped in gold paper before offering it to everyone. Chocolate. He seemed to have an endless supply of the stuff. Clara broke off a piece to put in her mouth, sucking on it hard and trying to ignore the cold feeling that seemed to have settled in her chest.

"If you'll excuse me I need to have a word with the driver." Remus put his chocolate away, gesturing for Clara to follow him before they both slipped out of the compartment. "I should have warned you about them ahead of time." He apologized quietly as they walked. "Remind me to teach you a spell this evening."

"What spell?" Clara asked curiously, still a little shaken up from what had happened. She felt really weird…unable to explain the feeling.

"A spell to conjure a Patronus." Remus glanced over at her a little worriedly. "You're positive you're okay? It didn't get you?"

"No, no I'm fine." She promised hurriedly before asking. "What's a Patronus?"

"A kind of Anti-Dementor. It's a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the monster. It's also a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon; hope, happiness, the desire to survive...but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it." Remus kept his voice rather low, clearly not wanting anyone to hear. They moved out of the way for a group of girls to pass before continuing to walk. "Each guardian is unique to the witch or wizard casting the spell."

"But, Remus, the spell you cast wasn't any sort of guardian…it just looked like a vapor or smoke. It wasn't defined." Clara sounded rather confused, and rightly so.

"There's two different types, Clara." Remus answered. "Corporeal, which is more defined and takes shape as an animal guardian, or non-corporeal, the spell you saw I used. The ability to cast either is down to the skill of the witch or wizard."

"So you're saying you're not powerful enough to have an animal guardian?" Clara asked doubtfully.

"It takes great skill to conjure a Patronus, even some of the best wizards and witches have trouble with it. But no." Remus was even more quiet with his reply. "I just choose to hide mine."

"Why?" Clara tried to catch his eye but failed. He refused to look anywhere but straight ahead.

"Because mine is a wolf."


	10. Chapter 10

Needless to say, what Remus had to say to the train conductor wasn't exactly nice, unable to believe they'd let Dementors anywhere near the children. None of them would be harbouring Sirius Black in their luggage, for Merlin's sake!

He was even more upset to realize that the Ministry had sent them to "protect" Hogwarts. Like it wasn't already well protected with Dumbledore around…

"This is ridiculous." He muttered under his breath to Clara as they walked toward the castle, momentarily forgetting this was all new for her. "The Ministry is out of their mind." He glanced over at her and stopped his complaining as he noticed she'd stopped at the end of the bridge and was staring up at the giant castle with wide, excited eyes. He'd already had to describe it for her—multiple times—including the moving staircases and other strange things. However considering she was used to living in the Tardis he had a feeling she'd fit right in. "Come on, it's better inside." He promised with a tiny smile, turning to keep walking and hearing her run to catch up.

Sure enough, Clara was utterly speechless when they entered the school. It both amusing and sad, because it was the exact reaction almost every first year student had. "Can I go look around now?" she turned to Remus, her eyes alight.

"Not tonight. We need to talk to Dumbledore before the feast." Remus felt slightly amused at the rather disappointed look on her face. He was glad she was so happy to be here, and knew she'd only love it more the more she explored and learned. For him, it was terribly bitter sweet.

When he'd entered this school as a boy, he'd expected it to be difficult, he'd hoped somehow, among all the other children he could go unnoticed and maybe for once things would almost be normal. Then he'd met these three boys, who were stupid, and crazy…and constantly dragged him into their ridiculous plots that to be honest, should have got them expelled a million times over. But someone had to look after them! And they looked after him…became everything to him. Gave him hope, made him laugh, told him he was worth something, that he wasn't a monster. He was back at the first and only place in his life that actually made him feel like he belonged to this world.

Except he was alone this time. Because his friends were gone now. Dead, imprisoned, a traitor.

"Remus?" Clara asked very quietly. He'd stopped to stare at one of the windows, his eyes glassy and not focusing on the scene below. "Are you alright?"

He blinked, forcing a rather tight smile across his lips. "Just tired." He lied, wishing she wasn't so concerned about him…wishing people didn't feel sorry for him when it wasn't worth it. It wasn't like it would do anything. He'd still be the same, still have the same battle every full moon. People shouldn't burden themselves with worrying over him. "Come on, Dumbledore's office is this way."

Remus had visited the office as a boy more times than he could count—always to do with James and Sirius and their pranks. Honestly, they couldn't go one day without coming up with some ridiculous plan! Dumbledore sat at his desk, scribbling on a bit of parchment with a quill. He glanced up when the two arrived, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Remus, good to see you." He stood up, coming over. His eyes settled on Clara, who was half-hidden behind the werewolf a little nervously. This was the wizard that was going to decide if she could stay or not…and she'd be lying if she didn't admit to being a little worried.

"Who's this?"

Remus opened his mouth to reply but Clara cut in, introducing herself. "I'm Clara." She stepped forward tentatively. "Clara Oswald."

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Oswald." Dumbledore smiled at her briefly, his curious gaze flicking back to Lupin and waiting for him to explain.

Remus wished very deeply at this point that he'd actually planned out what he was going to say. He swallowed a little nervously. "I had a little bit of an…accident you might say, at full moon, wandered further then I should of." He decided to leave the time travel but out of it for now. "Clara and one of her friends found me...I've been staying with them for a week." He paused, glancing over at Clara and finding she was already looking at him, her brown eyes supportive. "She didn't get a letter, didn't have anyone visit her house when she was eleven. I've been helping her practice over the past week—she's very talented."

"You wish for her to stay here." Dumbledore guessed easily, folding his hands behind his back and returning his gaze to Clara thoughtfully. It was very strange…but she reminded him of someone he couldn't quite place. "You're positive you never received a letter?" he asked after a moment.

Clara nodded. "I didn't even know I could…preform magic until I met Remus."

"Interesting." Dumbledore murmured, before once again turning to Remus. "She's talented, you say?"

"Very." Remus insisted. "She's already capable of year four, even five spells. I know she can't study with the students but she can at least sit in my class if she wishes, correct?"

Dumbledore nodded in response to the question, looking like he was thinking rather deeply about the situation. He remembered the small boy who had first come to this school all those years ago with soft, golden brown hair. He hung his head low and constantly stared at the floor, attempting to go unnoticed and hiding the scar over his face by letting his hair grow long and messy. One day Dumbledore spotted him running through the hallway with three boys, his head held a bit higher, the hint of a smile on his face. A few days later and the four of them were inseparable. The shy, quiet boy became the most sensible of them all, attempting to try and stop them from getting into trouble but often getting dragged into whatever plot James and Sirius had come up with. He'd joined Dumbledore's Order, fighting in the First Wizarding War, putting his life on the line to save the world. Brave, kind, sensible Remus…now living alone in a broken-down shack in Yorkshire without a job. It was a far cry from the student that had excelled so much at Hogwarts, even becoming a Prefect. He seemed to lose his will to fight. His face was young but at the same time he looked aged, with flecks of grey in his hair and lines on his face that shouldn't be there.

Dumbledore had hoped that in asking him to teach at the school, that in Remus meeting the child of one of his best friend's, he would find that hope and spirit in him again. Yet Lupin had only just set foot on the school grounds and already he looked better then when Albus had visited him at his "home".

The Headmaster stared at Clara again, wondering if it was her, if Remus had found another friend…it would be foolish not to let her stay. "She is welcome to sit in your classes." He replied with a friendly smile that widened a bit at Clara's relieved and excited expression. "And I'm sure if she asks nicely enough she would find some of the other professors would be willing to tutor her in various subjects…"

Remus hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath, watching Dumbledore think deeply about the subject before he finally agreed Clara could stay. "Thank you, Headmaster."

"I suggest you both go put away your things so you're not late for dinner." Dumbledore turned back to his desk, then paused. "Oh, Remus?" Lupin turned to look at him, since they were already halfway out of the room. "I hope it's alright that she'll have to share a room with you."

Remus felt heat spread up his neck and face. "We'll manage." He replied stiffly before vanishing from the room with Clara hot on his heels.

"Happy?" he asked her as they ran along, attempting to cover up his previous embarrassment. It was a rhetorical question, Clara was smiling widely, her brown hair flying behind her as she raced beside him.

"You have no idea!"

They skidded to a stop in front of the classroom, Remus opening the door and walking through the classroom area toward the back where there was a little door which swung open to reveal a proper bedroom with all the furnishings and several large windows.

"We can hang a curtain." Clara suggested, obviously not feeling in the least bit awkward about sharing a room. "Right across the middle."

"We'll have to do it later." Remus dropped his briefcase on the bed. "Or we'll be late."

"Good because I'm starving." Clara spun to look at him when he suddenly cursed, slapping a hand over his face. "What is it?"

"I just remembered I'm a teacher! I've got to sit with the other professors at the front! Come on." he left the room like he was running on four legs, and Clara hastily took after him.


	11. Chapter 11

Clara followed Remus to a rather large room he referred to as the "Great Hall". The tables were already set out, covered with plates of rather delicious and extravagant food. The students were just now filing in, immediately dashing to their tables and greeting old friends.

Clara's brown eyes swept to the front of the room, where Remus had whispered he was supposed to sit with the other professors. "Where do I go?" she tugged on his sleeve as he was about to walk off, following a line of adults Clara only guessed were the other teachers he'd referred to.

A look of uncertainty swept over Lupin's face as he was reminded yet again how odd her situation was. She was too old to sit with the students, wasn't she? And even if she was allowed, she hadn't been sorted into a house! He opened his mouth to come up with some sort of reply when a kind voice interrupted from behind them both.

"Remus Lupin, so good to see you again after all these years…"

He spun, facing an older woman wearing a rather large pointed hat Clara would have called a true "witch's hat". She had a warm smile on her lips as her eyes swept over the young man she used to teach.

"Professor McGonagall." Remus smiled, dipping his head respectfully. "The pleasure is mine."

"Now now, Remus," Her tone was somewhat endearing but also that of scolding a young child. "You are now a professor, too. It's Minerva." She turned to Clara briefly. "Dumbledore asked me to tell you that your new friend is allowed to sit with you until further arrangements are made." She smiled again. "I look forward to catching up later—you must come have tea with me tomorrow so I can meet your friend." She disappeared after the other professors with grace and elegance that left Clara feeling quite overwhelmed. She turned to find Remus looking awfully embarrassed, combing a hand through his hair with a slight flush. "She was head of Gryffindor house back in my day—still is. The others, James and Sirius and Peter, used to always get in such trouble when she caught us. I think she had a terrible soft spot for me, as I never got punished near as badly as the other three. Even when I was a prefect and should have known better." He grimaced at the recollection.

Clara smiled. Most likely Minerva still saw him as that same young boy. "What did you four get up to, exactly?"

"You don't want to know." Remus insisted dryly, giving her a look of mock horror. He glanced around briefly as they took their sits at the front of the room, lowering his voice. "However knowing me, you'll probably get an earful anyway."

Clara smiled, her gaze darting over the different persons at their table. She quietly started to ask who they were. He gave very short replies, simply their name and what they did, promising she'd meet everyone properly later.

"What about the man you're sitting next to?" Clara raised a brow at him. Remus cast a sideways look at person she'd gestured to, someone he'd been trying to ignore and obviously the man had been attempting to do likewise.

"This is professor Snape." He replied shortly, his gaze returning to his plate of pudding. "He teaches potions and is head of Slytherin house."

Clara locked eyes with the potions master, her breath catching in her throat briefly for she had never seen a gaze so dark or cold before. "Hello." She managed finally when he snapped his eyes away.

He didn't reply, not to her anyway. His gaze remained fixed straight ahead at the students eating as his deep, gravely voice spoke to Remus instead. "I assume she is another stray like yourself Dumbledore has taken pity on?"

"She's my friend." Remus replied briefly, seemingly not that concerned with the undertone to the question. "She's only just recently found her magical abilities."

Snape finally glanced back at them, his dark eyes half hidden behind a veil of long, jet-black hair that hung in greasy strands around his pale face. "How recently?" His voice, while quiet, was very good at making Clara feel uncomfortable.

"Just over a week." Remus swallowed the last of his chocolate. Clara expected him to add on to his reply but he didn't.

"Interesting." Snape murmured, his face rather unreadable so Clara had no idea if he was being sarcastic or not. After a moment of watching Remus help himself to more chocolate he changed the subject, adding, "I've brewed your-I would say little but it's very complicated and quite expensive-potion on the Headmaster's request. It's in my office, should you care to drop by and collect it."

Remus flinched slightly at the remark, Clara only just noticed. He covered it up with a rather forced smile. "Thank you. I'll make sure to take it off your hands tomorrow…"

Their little conversation was interrupted by Dumbledore's welcoming speech to the students. He also introduced Remus as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, to which Clara applauded rather loudly, grinning at his embarrassed expression. She noticed Snape hardly clapped at all.

"He's very cold." Clara commented after the feast was over and the children had gone to their dorms. She and Remus were walking back to their room to figure out the sleeping arrangements and hopefully practice that new spell he'd mentioned. "Everyone else seemed so nice and friendly—from what I saw anyway."

"Dumbledore always said Hogwarts is home to anyone who needs it." Remus replied, gazing around their room briefly before pulling his wand from his jacket and pointing it at the bed. "Geminio." Once the duplicate of the bed had appeared, he proceeded to push it across the invisible line that divided the room in half. "But to respond to your comment properly….Snape is what you would probably call a special case. I'm not sure how he ended up as potions master, really. He never exactly liked people." A rather large curtain of fabric appeared from the end of his wand, floating carefully up to hang neatly from the ceiling with Lupin's directing hand. "There, that should about do it." He put his wand away, seemingly satisfied.

"He never had friends?" Clara asked quietly, the very idea bothering her.

"He had friends." Remus assured, glancing over at her. "Just not the right type, if you know what I mean. Except for one girl…they were tightly knit, knew each other before coming to Hogwarts and were almost inseparable. But she had her limits. Didn't like him hanging out with the older kids of his house for one thing…" he shook his head, not exactly wanting to think of what had happened all those years ago. It just was a bitter reminder of his friends being gone. "Did you still want to practice that spell?"

Clara did, and they spent a good half an hour working on it. Nothing much happened, besides Clara producing a thin wisp of something that looked like smoke.

"You'll get it." Remus promised. "It is very complicated, remember…" he rubbed a hand over his face, glancing at the clock on the wall and deciding to call it a night. "Big day tomorrow…if today wasn't already enough excitement." He shrugged off his jacket, disappearing being the curtain to hang it on the back of a chair and take off his tie.

"Are you telling me to go to bed?" Clara asked with amusement, flopping down on her own bed and staring up at the ceiling contentedly. Despite the freak incident on the train, it had been a great day.

"Yes." Remus responded firmly. "Everyone knows you're my friend now and you'd best not embarrass me by falling asleep at the table at breakfast."

Clara laughed at his dry sense of humor, giving a little eye roll. "Is that a hint that I'm going to need to wake you up in the morning?"

"No!" Remus sounded rather horrified at the idea—partly because he was shocking at falling asleep anywhere and everywhere and sleeping for hours until someone finally woke him up. "Well, maybe. I did once fall asleep on the staircase you know."

"What?" Clara spluttered, imagining how that was even possible when the staircases moved. "For how long?"

"Can't remember…one of my friends found me eventually." Remus smiled just a little at the thought, lying down under the covers and folding his arms behind his head. "Anyway," he reminded himself before he trailed off into one of his stories of the good old days. "Goodnight." He waved his wand briefly and the lights turned off.

"You're disappointing…for a moment I thought I was going to get to hear one of the terrible pranks you all got in trouble for." Clara grinned, finally pulling the covers over herself and rolling onto her side.

"No." Remus closed his eyes and said the word firmly. "You don't need a bedtime story, you're far too old." The choked sort of laughing noise she made caused him to smile just a little. "Goodnight, Clara." He repeated.

" 'Night." Clara murmured, closing her eyes. It didn't take her long to fall asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Remus slept in. Whatever it was about Hogwarts, it brought back his awful sleeping habits. Clara had gone to breakfast early, considering she'd woken up at the first sign of daylight. It was wonderful, the tables stacked with every breakfast food you could imagine. Professor McGonagall took the liberty of sitting next to her, insisting Clara must come around for tea that afternoon if she wasn't too busy.

"I'm not used to seeing him without his friends, you know." She'd stated, a rather sad expression flickering over her old face. "He was always running around with those silly boys. Inseparable they were." She sighed, shaking herself from her thoughts and forcing a smile as she looked back at Clara's concerned face. "But he's got you now, obviously." She patted Clara's hand affectionately. "And that's a good thing."

"We haven't really known each other very long." Clara insisted a bit shyly, poking at her food. "Just friends."

"Of course. But Remus needs friends more then most people, I think." Minerva gave her a knowing look before finishing her breakfast and insisting she'd better head off to her first class of the day.

And that's when Clara realized that Remus hadn't turned up for breakfast. And all the other professors were leaving for their classes. She dashed back to their room, flinging back the curtain and finding that Lupin was indeed curled up with the blankets pulled over his nose. He was fast asleep still.

"Remus!" she shook him rather violently, throwing his jacket and tie at him. "You're going to be late for your class!"

He sat upright rather quickly, rubbing his head and feeling all muddled before his expression turned to utter horror. "Why didn't you wake me up sooner?!" he grabbed his jacket, tugging it on and not caring that he'd slept in the rest of his clothes and it was rather…obvious.

"Because you said not to!" Clara sounded fully exasperated, watching as his shoes zipped across the floor to him and the tie magically ordered itself around his neck.

"Rule number one about me, don't listen to anything I say." Remus replied dryly, dashing for the door.

"Wouldn't that include that rule, then?" Clara asked with amusement, running after him.

/

She stayed for his first class. In fact she attended to hang around for all of them but got a phone call in between the first and the second class. "Clara. Meet me at the dinky little tavern place nearby. I'm drinking something called "Butterbeer"." The Doctor hung up afterwards, not leaving her time to reply. Clara stared at her phone confusion, wondering why he was even here. She hadn't rung him saying she needed anything…unless he was trying to be the control freak still. When would he learn she could make her own decisions and he didn't need to baby her?

After asking Remus about what place the Doctor could have possibly meant, she found herself inside the Three Broomsticks with a rather large mug of the strange drink. "Why are you here?" she decided to get straight to the point. "I haven't even been at Hogwarts twenty four hours yet and you've already parked the Tardis nearby and ring me up for an appointment like you need to check on me."

"I am checking on you."

"No." Clara put her drink down, momentarily pushing it to the side. "I never asked you to—we have been over this. You're my friend, one of the best I have, but this is the world I live in now. This one, right here." She pressed her finger to the table pointedly. "I loved traveling with you. But it has to stop. You need to find someone else to keep you company."

"I don't think you quite understand, Clara." The Doctor leaned forward, his face one that was not to be argued with.

"Don't understand what, exactly?"

"Why you're so good at magic. So natural at something that was foreign to you until less than two weeks ago. Do you want to know why? Because you already learned those spells."

Clara's brown eyes ran over his face with confusion and she slowly shook her head. "No I didn't."

"Yes, you did." The Doctor insisted, in a tone Clara knew far too well. He wasn't kidding. He was being serious and he was being protective. "A different version of you. A Clara Oswald that went to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry a long time ago. A Clara that fought in a war against a terrible darkness and died, doing what she does best. Saving people. That's why you can produce all these spells, that's why you find it so easy. Because it's in your subconscious."

"And you found this out, how?" she asked quietly, though the struggle not to let everyone else hear their conversation was difficult. "Did you go spying to purposely try and find a reason why I shouldn't stay?"

"No. I found this out a long time ago. When I was doing all that research about you. Before I got this face." The Doctor lightly rubbed a hand against his grey hair, looking away. "All those versions of you…didn't just die trying to save me. There's versions of you running around saving other people. And always you die, Clara. You die every single time."

"Maybe so." Clara whispered, "But they are not me—not the real me—and even if they are, who cares if I die protecting good people who need saving. That's what you do. You save people. You told me, that we never walk away."

"That was different!" the Doctor couldn't help but snap a little.

"So what?" Clara hissed, feeling a few pairs of eyes turn to look at them. "This is my decision. You can't run my life for me, can't always protect me."

"I have a duty of care."

"Yes, I know. And I never asked you to do that." She leaned back in her chair, staring at him with flickering eyes. "Is this just because you don't like Remus? Because don't think I haven't noticed you hated him right from the beginning."

"He is a werewolf!" Clara glared at him sharply and he was at least sensible enough to lower his voice. "He might be nice and friendly to you now but come full moon and everything will change."

"He can't help that." Clara replied shortly, feeling defensive over her friend.

"Exactly. He won't have any control and that puts you in danger."

"We are going in circles." Clara finished her Butterbeer and pushed her chair back, pulling on her jacket. "I have always appreciated your friendship, Doctor…for the longest time you were my only true friend. But things are different now. You don't need to protect me—you can't protect me—in a world you're not even apart of." She paused, leaning down to kiss his cheek. "It doesn't mean I won't want to see you sometimes." She added softly.

"Clara."

"I'll be fine. I'll call you soon." She stepped toward the door.

"Clara."

She turned reluctantly, waiting to hear his final words. It wasn't at all what she expected.

"You died trying to save his mother." He didn't need to specify who's mother. She already knew.

And suddenly it made sense…why he stared at Remus the way he did, why he acted around Remus the way he did. Why he didn't like him.

She met his blue gaze, saw the look in his eyes, that he wasn't going to give up on trying to stop her, that he thought it would happen all over again.

"Your friend didn't bother to tell you, did he, that people like you…people born without magical parents were murdered back then. Tortured even. When their "Dark Lord" comes back—"

"Who says he going to come back?" Clara stepped forward to lean on the table, already knowing the answer. "If you've really gone to the future to see what might happen, then don't come try to pull me away. If people are going to die, then I want to fix it. We don't walk away, Doctor." She gave him a long look. "Since when did you start?"

"Since I had a duty of care."

"Which I never asked you for." Clara repeated quietly. "But these people you know die, whatever happens in the future, you can have a duty of care about them. Be a Doctor." She smiled faintly, staring at him with memories clouded in her eyes. "I'll call you." She promised again, before straightening and vanishing out the door.

Her first day at Hogwarts wasn't even half over and she was determined to enjoy it and not worry about the Doctor's predictions and fears. She had lots to do today. She had big plans.


	13. Chapter 13

"Okay…so…first person on the list to talk to is Professor McGonagall to get sorted into a Hogwarts house, have tea, and ask about more transfiguration lessons."

Clara had just come back from the Three Broomsticks and was reading off a list she'd made in her diary of what to do that day. She was barely containing her excitement as she ran across the bridge and into the castle.

However she realized once inside that she had absolutely no idea where she was really going since she'd just arrived last night. Not wanting to interrupt Remus's class to ask for directions she walked around for a bit hoping to run into someone.

Luckily, someone ran into her, or through her…

Remus had told her about the ghosts already, which was a good thing, so she wasn't too surprised when Nearly Headless Nick tipped his hat, said "good morning" and swept through. Clara waved briefly, then realized a ghost might be the perfect person to ask for directions. "Oh, um, excuse me!" she spun, and Nick turned and drifted back over.

"Hi. I'm Clara" she introduced herself with a smile, "and I've got a list of people I need to see…but I have no idea when is the best time to see them or where to find them. I'd rather not ask my friend he's busy teaching."

"Oh, that's quite alright." Nick seemed rather flattered that he was being asked for help as he got ignored for the most part. "Who would you like to see?"

"Well, first I need to find Professor McGonagall…" Clara started, before listing off the others.

Nearly Headless Nick was extremely helpful. He decided to escort Clara since explaining where to go could be rather confusing sometimes. "She's not teaching currently if I'm not mistaken. I can give you a timetable of the other professors if you like."

"Thank you that would be so helpful!"

She jotted down everything he said, and took note of where to find them before they arrived at Minerva's classroom.

"Here you go, Clara." Nick stopped, giving her a rather large smile. "Shall I just hang about till you're ready or have you got all that?"

"I think I got it all, thank you again!" Clara smiled widely at him, deciding she liked ghosts…at least these ones.

"Alright then. If you get lost just give a shout and someone will come find you." He spun away, humming to himself and Clara turned to knock on the door politely.

McGonagall opened it and the kind smile Clara had seen on her lips twice already returned. "Miss Oswald. I'm so glad you've taken up my offer of tea." She let Clara come inside and led her to a door in the back of the classroom which, like Remus's room, led to a bedroom. She offered Clara a rather comfortable looking chair and it wasn't long before a teacup and saucer was in both their laps.

They chatted away for a bit. Clara found Minerva very easy to talk to. She nodded and hummed in agreement, asked questions and genuinely seemed to care about Clara's experience teaching at a 'muggle school'. The Doctor was left out of the conversation.

After awhile, Clara finally plucked up the courage and asked, "I was wondering…I've done a bit of transfiguration with Remus but he said you were the person to talk to about it…would you be able to help me sometimes?"

"Oh, anytime, dear!" Minerva nodded, placing her cup aside. "I'm happy to assist with anything. I'm very fond of Remus, you see, and any friend of his is a friend of mine."

"Thank you." Clara was slightly relieved. "There's one other thing. Remus said I need to get put into a house…?"

"Oh, yes." McGonagall shook her head like it was her responsibility and she'd neglected it. All of the first years had been sorted yesterday before the feast. Though she supposed making Clara stand with them would be slightly humiliating. "Dumbledore should have thought of it when you visited him yesterday. Never mind. We shall go to his office now and get it done right away." She stood up and gestured for Clara to follow.

Dumbledore wasn't in his office, but Minerva seemed to already know where the hat was because she told Clara to sit on a stool and a moment later appeared with the object in question. "Here you are, another person to sort who was forgotten yesterday." She placed it on Clara's head. The hat immediately gave a very long 'umming' sound. "Very clever, loyal, desire to prove one's self….but very brave. Yes, very brave…Gryffindor it is!"

McGonagall took the hat back, smiling briefly at the rather flushed Clara. "There you are, dear. Anything else you were wanting currently?"

"One more thing." Clara felt a bit sheepish asking for yet another favour. "Could you point me in the direction of Hagrid?"

"Of course! The students are on lunch break now so I'll take you partway myself."

So Clara soon found herself sitting in a quaint little hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, being served a cup of tea by the half-giant who seemed very pleased to have a guest. "I don't get many visitors, see." He added as an explanation once Clara was contentedly sipping away, gazing around the comfortable place. "Harry and his friends come along sometimes…it's nice when they do."

"It's a lovely place." Clara complimented genuinely, deciding she wouldn't have minded living here, tucked away from the bustle of the school but still close enough to enjoy everything.

Hagrid flushed just slightly. "Well, that's the nicest thing I've heard today…"

"I came to ask you something, actually." Clara put down her second cup of tea for that day. "Remus has been teaching me a bit of magic….I only just figured out I could do it recently. About a week ago. We've been practicing and that, but now he'd teaching obviously…"

"I don't know if I can help you with that, Miss Oswald…."

"No," Clara agreed, "but from what I gathered last night you could help me learn about all these magical creatures?"

The half-giant instantly brightened up. "That I can do, Miss Oswald. That I can do…"

The last person on her list was someone Clara was hesitant about. In fact that was why he was last. Professor Snape. His last class of the day had just finished when Clara got there—after spending all of lunch with Hagrid, then watching his class and nipping back to see Remus who was already freaking out about where she'd been all day….

"Hello?" Clara nervously pushed open the door to the potions room, finding it lacking any persons but quite full of all types of strange bottles and vials and other peculiar things. She walked around the tables, peering into the bottles and reading the labels. Some of them were so odd…

"Enjoying yourself?"

Clara jumped so hard she nearly knocked the shelf, spinning around and finding Snape standing in the doorway. She hadn't even heard him come in.

"Yes…sorry." She apologized quickly, not exactly sure why, folding her hands in front of her and looking rather awkward. "I didn't open anything…"

"I know." Snape replied evenly. He stood staring at her down his hooked nose before sweeping across the room and into the door at the back. Clara wasn't really sure what to do at this point and stood fidgeting, but the potions master wasn't long in coming back, carrying a little wooden tray which he promptly placed on the table in front of her.

Clara looked first at the tray, filled with about six or so dark bottles. Confusion spread across her face when she found Snape staring at her rather expectantly. "I'm sorry," she repeated, "But what are these?"

"For your friend, the wolf. I assume that is why you came down here?" Snape raised a brow, but other than that his face remained unmoved.

"Oh." Clara blinked, turning back to the potions and recalling something at dinner last night about "Wolfsbane" and Remus coming to collect it. "Thank you I'm sure Remus will be very appreciative…but actually I came to talk to you." She turned to look at him and gave a tiny smile, unsure how this was going to go.

"I do not indulge in social chats. I have work." Snape spun away, his black robes snapping as he went over to his table and placed a book on the table, flipping it open to a certain page and seemingly trying to prove to Clara just how much work he had to do.

"Yes, I know." Clara fiddled with her sleeve, slightly craning her neck in an attempt to look at the book he was using and what it said. "That's what I'm here about." She took a deep breath and launched in. "Remus was very good at teaching me some of the magical skills but obviously there are others that are better learned if someone else teaches me. I wish to become a capable a witch, and I want to learn everything I can. So I'd like you to teach me potions. Please." She crossed her fingers and held her breath.

Severus had proceeded to work on brewing a potion, seemingly ignoring the girl's chatter and focusing on his task, his hands moving swiftly and expertly. However they paused when she finished, and his eyes briefly raised to look at her. "Potion making is a delicate art. The students I teach here are dim-witted fools who are lucky they don't set the school ablaze. I don't need another one." He turned back to his work.

Clara felt a deep stab of disappointment at the harsh words, wondering what on earth could have happened to make someone so grumpy. "I surprised Remus." She offered lightly, having a feeling she was treading on thin ice but not giving up hope just yet. "Couldn't you at least let me try once? Just once. Then I'll leave you alone if that's what you want…"

Snape was silent, continuing to crush his ingredient and somehow not soil his white sleeves.

"Please?" Clara added again quietly, although she had a feeling neither good nor bad manners would change the answer.

"I have a free period tomorrow you can come then." He stated finally, sweeping whatever he was working on into a cauldron.

'And the last one is a big tick!' Clara thought excitedly but forced herself to control it at least to a certain degree. "Thank you! Thank you very much!" she swept up the tray for Remus in her arms, the bottles clinking together. "See you tomorrow!" she whisked out, leaving Severus alone, wondering what he'd just agreed to.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for my small hiatus, guys. I'm back! This chapter is a bit shorter and more "boring" but I promise exciting things are on the way. I have big plans. :)**

Clara looked up from her bed where she was sprawled out on her stomach reading a stack of books she'd borrowed from the Hogwarts library. It was getting close to midnight and Remus had just returned from a wizard sort of staff meeting thing.

"How was it?" she flipped a page in her book, jotting down some notes at the same time in her diary.

"If you're wanting me to admit it was absolutely fine like you said it would be, I'm not going to." Remus undid his tie, flopping down in a chair in the corner of the room and looking awfully exhausted. He hated social events. "You've been keeping yourself busy, I see." He gestured to the books.

"Mhm." Clara agreed, shutting the cover and stacking them away on the bedside table for the night. "Although I haven't been reading the whole time. I went to my potions class—"

"What?" Remus interrupted. "Sorry, you went to what?"

"Potions class." Clara repeated, giving him a strange look. "With Severus…?"

Remus flattened his lips into a rather tight line. "How convenient for him to miss the staff social event this evening because he was tutoring. You do realize he just used you to get out of it?"

Clara shrugged. "I don't mind."

Remus stared at her oddly. She didn't mind? "He's being nice to you, then?"

Clara copied his expression, feeling rather amused. She'd noticed in the two days being here everyone seemed rather terrified of the black-cloaked professor. Including herself—the potions master did loom a good foot above her—but she wasn't as scared now as she had been when she'd asked him to teach her. "He's been fine. He just doesn't have a lot of patience for idiots."

"Apparently." Remus replied dryly. "Three students from my last class were unable to attend due to him giving them detention."

It wasn't that funny, but Clara couldn't help but stifle a little laugh. "Like you didn't get into trouble in your "younger days"." She reminded coyly.

"Are you calling me old?" Remus's eyes widened and he quickly moved a hand to his head, as if attempting to cover up the streaks of grey fading his brown hair. "You can blame all this premature greying on Sirius. He drove all of us up the wall."

"You still haven't told me much about them." Clara folded her arms against the bed cover, resting her chin on them and gazing at him expectantly.

Remus went quiet, staring out the window at the darkness outside. Part of him didn't want to reminisce the old days, when his friends were alive, or not traitors. But being here, back at Hogwarts caused him to think about them all the same.

Without a word he got up from his chair and disappeared behind the curtain that separated their beds. Clara thought she'd made him upset, or mad, but he came back rather quickly with an old, faded photograph with torn edges. He placed it in front of Clara. "That's the five of us…we'd just graduated." He smiled faintly.

Clara stared at the moving picture, noticing how young Remus looked, how happy they all were… "This is Lily?" she guessed quietly, pointing to the only girl in the photo, holding hands with a messy-haired young man wearing glasses.

Remus nodded. "Lily and James. They got married shortly after." He paused, his eyes clouding over a little recalling old memories. "And this is Peter, and Sirius…"

"He looks like trouble." Clara commented dryly.

Remus smiled faintly. "He was quite popular with the girls…a real firecracker. Him and James were the worst, always getting into trouble and then I got blamed. Real idiots, they were." He shook his head. "But they were my first friends…and they accepted me and protected me. I don't know where I'd be without them."

"Didn't you have friends before coming here?" Clara looked away from the photo to meet his rather sad gaze.

Remus hesitated, not wanting Clara to get the impression he was asking for sympathy. "My parents didn't let me go outside much…they were scared people would find out about my condition."

"That's horrible." Clara murmured quietly. And she meant it. Her eyes darted back to the moving photograph for another moment before she gave it back to him. "You must miss them a lot." She still wondered what happened, why he looked so sad thinking about them…

"I think about them every day." Remus admitted quietly, brushing his thumb over his friends' faces and going quiet for a long moment. He finally shook himself, tucking the photo in his pocket and forcing a smile. "Anyway, I'm keeping you up….goodnight." he disappeared behind the curtain.

Clara tried to sleep, but ended up just lying awake staring at the ceiling, thinking about Remus's friends, Remus himself, his condition…this amazing school and the people she'd met like Severus, Hagrid, Minerva that were helping her with her magical abilities.

The curtain between her and Remus shifted and she blinked, watching as he quietly slipped out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him. Where was he going? It was practically two in the morning!

She pushed the covers back, softly opening the door to peek out and spotting his lanky figure going down the hallway, hands in his pockets, head down. He looked at ease in the dark, and not at all like he was sleep walking.

So was he just going for a stroll? Perhaps he was going to steal some chocolate in the kitchen. Clara smiled a little at the thought, closing the door and wriggling back underneath the warm covers. It really amazed her to think about how recently she'd met him, and been introduced to this world, but how…she felt like she fit in. Like she'd always been here.

'There's a version of you that had.' She reminded herself, the smiling slipping as she recalled what the Doctor had told her in the Three Broomsticks. While everything seemed like fun and games at the moment and life was good, she had a gut feeling it wouldn't be too long before trouble started.

The air was thick with a strange sensation...a sort of dark cloud. And the fact that there were wanted posters all over Hogsmeade looking for an escaped prisoner, the creepy cloaked figures Remus called "Dementors"…

Clara shuddered, closing her eyes and forcing herself to sleep. However as she drifted off she couldn't help but recall the "wanted" posters she'd seen and something Remus had said before.

'And this is Peter, and Sirius…'

But she fell asleep before her mind could figure out why those two things kept swirling about in her head.


	15. Chapter 15

Clara was in the middle of listening to Remus teach the fourth year students when it all finally clicked in her head.

She'd read his copy of the Daily Prophet that morning, finding the wizarding newspaper rather fascinating although Remus insisted it could sometimes be rather exaggerated.

There was another article on Sirius Black, with a picture of him…and just the night before Remus had stated one of his friends- in the picture of them just graduated-was called Sirius. And the two looked eerily alike. Too alike. And *that* was what had bothered Clara as she'd tried to sleep.

She wanted to ask him about it straight away, but knew better. It was in the middle of a class, and besides that she was supposed to be paying attention for her own benefit. However she was impatient from that moment onward for it to finish, finding it difficult to sit still and constantly shifting. Luckily she was at the very back of the room, so she couldn't distract anyone.

Except Remus, who kept shooting her odd glances, obviously aware something was up. She didn't wait till the end of class to have him ask. Once he started assigning homework she swept from the room.

She'd decided she wouldn't ask Remus straight away. There was a reason he hadn't already said anything, and hardly talked about his friends at all, or what had happened to them.

'Are they all in prison?'

The obvious person to ask would be someone like McGonagall. But Clara didn't have time to ask her because in two minutes she'd been starting her next class, so she went to the library instead to see what she could find.

Her research brought no fruitful results. There were tens of thousands of books stacked on the shelves and Clara wasn't even sure where to start. She left the room to go find Minerva, her stomach growling for some lunch.

She ran into the hatted professor in one of the hallways.

"Oh, Professor!" Clara stopped, taking a deep breath. "I've got some questions for you, if you wouldn't mind answering them?"

"Of course of course…we'll go make some tea." Minerva gestured for Clara to follow as they headed back to her little office area. "Would you like a biscuit, Miss Oswald?"

Clara took one gratefully, setting it on the edge of her saucer and sipping her tea. "I'm not really sure how to ask this…but I was wondering what you could tell me about," she hesitated again, "Sirius Black…"

Professor McGonagall stared at Clara for a long moment before slowly letting her teacup sink into her lap. "Remus hasn't told you anything?" she asked lightly, however concern flickered in her eyes.

Clara slowly shook her head.

"I see." The old witch sighed. Naturally the girl would be curious, being so new to their world. She always had so many questions… "He was good friends with our Remus." She stated finally. "I suppose him telling would hurt, having to remember it all." She slowly put her tea to the side, folding her hands and looking past Clara, past the wall at something else. Something far away.

"It was something terrible, that got him into prison?" Clara guessed quietly. It was the only logical explanation as to why everyone was so worried about his escape.

"Something very terrible." Minerva confirmed, her eyes sweeping back to the girl in front of her, wondering how much to say. "There was a prophecy made, about a very dark and powerful wizard…."

Clara sat and listened, her tea going cold in her lap as McGonagall explained about the Dark Lord, his followers, the wizards and witches that fought them…and the prophecy. She was told about James and Lily—Remus's best friends—and how they died at the Dark Lord's hand, because of Sirius Black.

It left her with a horrid feeling in her stomach, and lots more questions.

"Unfortunately I can't say anymore, Miss Oswald. I have to get back to my students. Remus is really the best one to answer your questions. They were his greatest friends, and he fought in The Order." She got up, and Clara followed her to the door, rather overwhelmed.

"What happened…to their child? James and Lily's?" she asked.

"Harry?" Minerva looked rather surprised. "He survived. The only person to survive a killing curse. He's here, in Hogwarts. Black-haired boy with messy hair and round glasses…looks just like his rather." And with that, Minerva smiled and went off to her class.

Clara walked away very slowly, knowing she was supposed to go visit Hagrid but not quite feeling up to it anymore. And while she did have a lot more questions to ask Remus, she almost didn't want to. What a horrible thing to happen…to have your first friends, your best friends that you'd grown up with, die…and have one of them responsible for their deaths. No wonder he didn't want to talk about it, why he looked so sad at the mention of them.

/

"You okay?"

Clara glanced up at the voice that suddenly appeared beside her, startled. "Hey…" she murmured, relaxing briefly once she realized it was Remus. "Yeah…fine." She turned back to the view, the sun just starting to set over the lake. She already knew what he was going to ask her—why she'd been avoiding him all day. Because she had.

There was a rustle of paper beside her, then a nudge. Clara smiled faintly at the chocolate he offered to her, taking a piece and putting it in her mouth to suck on. "Who started it?"

"Started what?" Remus looked confused, settling down on the ground beside her.

"You're chocolate obsession." Clara chuckled just a little. "A day hasn't gone by where you don't eat some—or offer it to crying students."

"It makes them feel better." Remus insisted defensively. Clara stared at him with a raised brow and he rolled his eyes. "And me too."

"So who started it?"

"Nobody." He sighed, his gaze returning to the setting sun. Memories flashed before his eyes of being eight years old, the morning after his transformation, hiding under his bed bleeding, crying, begging his parents to stop the wolf from returning each month.

"My parents and I tried to find ways to stop in in the early years…we tried many different things. I'd read that chocolate was poisonous to dogs so I thought…perhaps…" he shook his head recalling it. "There wasn't a cure." He stated finally.

Clara went rather silent. "There isn't a potion that will just…?"

Remus shook his head. "The one Snape brews for me just helps relieve the symptoms—eases the aggression and such." He glanced back at her and forced a smile, sensing she was upset about the subject. "You worry too much."

"Someone has to worry about you." Clara pointed out firmly, crossing her arms.

Remus gazed at her rather comically. "And I suppose you think you're the best person suited? A witch that's only been practicing magic for a few weeks?"

"I'm a time traveller." Clara reminded shortly, knowing he was teasing but unable to help but feel slightly offended all the same. "And I've been practicing very hard and researching lots!"

"And you're still a foot shorter then me." Remus added dryly.

Clara glared at him so furiously he laughed, quickly shifting away when she grabbed a handful of grass to throw at him. It still managed to hit him in the face and he spluttered, quickly wiping the blades away. "Alright, alright, I won't bring up the height subject again."

"Sometimes I wonder how you became a teacher." Clara sniffed indigently, her sparking brown eyes the only hint she was kidding.

"What happened to me being absolutely fabulous?" Remus pulled a painful expression.

"I never said that."

"It was implied."

Clara couldn't keep a straight face at that and gave a short laugh, flopping down on her back in the grass and staring up at the sky, the stars just starting to come out, the clouds stained orange and pink.

Remus propped himself up by his arms, following her gaze briefly. Silence lapsed between them for awhile until he finally asked, "so, when are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Clara murmured. "I said I'm fine."

"Then it's a problem with someone else." He glanced over at her. "You're rather bad at lying."

Clara groaned, covering her face with her hands. "I'm actually rather good, I'm positive you can just smell it or something…."

"Smell it?" Remus scoffed, grinning a little at the idea before his expression turned serious once more. "What is it? Not one of those pesky Slytherin students bothering you again, I hope?" He'd already caught two boys bothering Clara the other day. She'd handled them quite well, but all the same it wasn't a pleasant experience.

"No." Clara answered quickly. "It's not…anything like that." She sighed, pulling her hands away. "I asked McGonagall a few questions…because of something I read in the paper." She paused. "She told me about Sirius…and what happened."

Remus was silent and Clara was almost scared to look at him.

"I'm sorry." She added quietly. "If you don't want to talk about it I won't ask—"

"It's fine." Remus interrupted without looking at her. "You deserve to know."

But now that she had permission to ask, Clara suddenly didn't want to all over again. She felt guilty, because she could see the obvious pain on his face and glistening in his eyes. "You blame yourself?" she whispered quietly, although it was hardly a question.

"They were my friends." Remus reminded, his voice quiet, almost void of any emotion because he was trying to push it all back. "James and Lily and their son, Harry—who's grown up without a proper family because of it. Because of what Sirius did."

"You couldn't have known he would do something like that." Clara murmured, "Not when you were all so close…"

"That's the thing," Remus looked up at her finally. "Sirius never would." He blinked a little and shook his head, turning his gaze back to the twinkling stars above. "But he did." He tensed briefly feeling Clara comfortingly rest her cheek on his shoulder. She was very good…to stay with him, to try and make his life a bit better. She reminded him very much of Lily, ever so kind and always looking out for others, seeing the good in them.

"It wasn't your fault." Clara whispered quietly, her cheek against his sweater, the smell of chocolate and pine trees stinging her nose.

"I know." Remus agreed under his breath. "But all the same I can't help but wonder if there was something I might have done to change things…even the slightest."


	16. Chapter 16

While Clara had many questions about the events that had occurred many years ago, she didn't prod Remus for answers. The werewolf was grateful, considering it was difficult for him to talk about and there were some things he'd rather not say entirely. However Clara was so respectful of this fact— deserved to know these things—that he gradually explained bits and pieces when the timing was right. She listened intently, her brown eyes sympathetic, and when he finished she didn't ask for more…even though sometimes he cut himself off rather abruptly and didn't completely finish.

It was like he was still processing what had happened to his friends. And in a way he was because while it was so long ago, it was vividly fresh in his mind. Perhaps seeing Harry walking around, playing Quidditch, sitting in his class didn't help with this. The boy looked so like his dad it was like a frequent kick in the gut…and Harry had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead to remind Remus that two of his best friends were dead.

The part that was even worse to accept was Sirius…and it was hard to get away from the subject with his recent escape. Sirius Black wouldn't betray his best friends, he wouldn't hunt down and murder muggles or Peter either.

And this was the part Remus was in the most denial about, the thing that had him constantly arguing with himself over and over day and night. Sirius was loyal to his friends—all of them had been to each other—he wouldn't just…do something like that!

But when Remus had tried to tell people this fact he was shut out, told just to leave it, that they understood how hard it must be for him, but he just had to accept it. Maybe it was just the fact everything had happened at once. He'd lost all his friends in a matter of two days and it had just been the straw to break the camel's back, so to speak.

Remus honestly didn't know and had a lot of questions about it all himself. Questions he kept to himself, as usual. Nobody knew about the utter turmoil inside him.

He was a compassionate and mild-mannered person usually. Quiet, but not unapproachable. In fact the students liked him a lot. But his insides burned. A maturity inside him that was there long before it should have been, causing the early streaks of grey hair, as though every time his bones shifted to make room for the monster, he aged along with them. There's a dull pain in every corner of his body where the wolf has scarred the skin, broken blood vessels and cracked the joints. He is always in pain. It's been this way since he was a boy. But he'd never say so, wouldn't even hint.

And all this was made worse when he lost his only friends in the world who cared for him and made it all worth while.

But recently something happened. He somehow found himself lying in the middle of a park after his last transformation, in the future, and was stumbled upon by a strange old man with a blue box and his companion.

Meeting Clara made Remus feel like he had some sort of purpose again. She made him feel like he was worth something—a feeling he hadn't felt in a very long time. She convinced him he was good, brave, that he wasn't a monster and that he'd be an amazing teacher.

The strange thing was, even if he didn't always agree and found her endearing comments amusing, she was usually right.

/

They had been at Hogwarts a few weeks now. It was coming up to full moon again and Remus had been thinking about the fact it was almost a month since he'd met Clara. He also had a splitting headache that made him want to be sick, but he was sitting in the grass watching Clara try to conjure a Patronus.

She still hadn't mastered the spell, and it was driving her a little mental. She wanted to conjure one so badly that she tried every day for at least an hour and always failed.

"Why is it so hard?" she puffed in irritation, flopping down beside him for a break and placing her wand on the ground not too gently.

"It's not a spell many wizards and witches can master." Remus reminded patiently—a skill, considering how ill he felt.

"I know you've already said that." Clara grumbled, sulking just a little. "But I should be able to do this!"

The corners of Remus's mouth lifted slightly. She reminded him of Lily so much…it should be painful, but instead he found Clara only ever caused him to smile.

"You'll figure it out eventually." He stretched out on the grass in the sun, listening to her flip through her diary, muttering under her breath. She'd tried to explain to him why she thought it was so difficult, something about how there had been another version of her that studied at Hogwarts and learned magic and that's why she initially found it so easy…and she was finding it hard now because she'd reached the capabilities of that other version of herself or something.

The time travel stuff she was used to made Remus's head swim so he just listened and nodded and pretended like he understood.

"Did you manage to get hold of your friend?" he asked, the subject reminding him of the Doctor and how Clara hadn't been able to talk to him in days.

"No." she sighed beside him, closing her diary with a little snap. "He won't return my calls."

"I'm sure he's just a busy man." Remus offered comfortingly, sensing she was upset about it. "He does have all of time and space to travel through according to you."

"I suppose." Clara replied quietly, but Remus could tell she wasn't convinced, though she didn't try to argue with him.

He opened one eye when she shifted from beside him, getting back to her feet to practice some more. He watched for a little bit before sheer exhaustion took over and he fell asleep in the sun.

/

"Remus? Remus!" Clara nudged him. It was practically dark, and she was hungry for dinner. However she hadn't been able to wake the sleeping werewolf. And she'd been trying for ten minutes at least. Honestly, if he got this tired maybe he should try actually sleeping at night when you were supposed to? She'd seen him going out each evening, just after midnight for a walk. She wasn't sure what time he got back either…but he was always fast asleep come the time he was supposed to be awake.

"Remus!" she tried once more, giving him a rather decent shove in the shoulder this time.

"What?" he grumbled in response, moving his arm over to protect his shoulder from her attacking him again.

"It's almost dark." Clara sighed, also trying not to laugh. "You've been asleep all afternoon and you didn't even see me—" she stopped rather abruptly.

Her eyes had wandered to the forest not far away. There was movement in the shadows, a shape hovering in the air, diving, swooping toward them…

"See you what?" Remus opened his eyes rather reluctantly, catching sight of Clara's frightened expression fixated on something behind him. He turned quickly, grabbing her wrist at the same time as scrambling to his feet.

"It's a Dementor!" Clara burst finally. They weren't supposed to be directly on the school grounds but then again, she and Remus were near the forest and the students weren't supposed to go there.

"There's only one." Remus assured, pulling his wand from his pocket as the dark creature flew closer.

"No there's not." Clara hissed, her voice strained as she yanked on his sleeve. Remus glanced over his shoulder, spotting another two—no three—Dementor's flying toward them from the other direction.

"Did you learn that spell?" he demanded quickly as they shifted position, back to back. Clara was shaking a little.

"Not really…at least I don't think it could take on three of-Remus!"

The Dementors were now floating directly above her. Or at least, two of them were.

Remus felt icy chills run down his back and it wasn't just the cold the creatures were inflicting. The problem was, to conjure a Patronus was a very complicated spell that required a lot of concentration. And he felt so sick with full moon just two days away, he wasn't sure if he could do it.


End file.
